Friends Together As One
by B-b-b-buizel
Summary: Torey is tasked to find out more about the mysterious 'Mega Stones' by Professor Sycamore. But after a transformation that occurred without reason, Torey is now taking the body of his pokemon and best friend Buizel. How will Torey fare as his pokemon? They will meet new friends, make rivals, and go on a journey of a lifetime. In progress. Will add more characters and story stuff.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon or any songs that MAY come up. Contains some swearing. If you're not fond of it, skip over the word and read on.**

_**Flashback**_

Torey walked by the lake with his mom, enjoying the lovely scenery. Groups of Magikarp swam in the lake gracefully, slicing through the water like a hot knife through butter. Butterfree and Combee flew across the water towards groups of flowers, pollinating the lovely plants and being rewarded with nectar to feed on. Pelipepper and Wingull flew over head in a V formation, heading down south for the winter season. Chikorita were spread out in the grass, enjoying the warm rays of the sun while multiple Mudkip played in the mud banks.

"Mom, this is beautiful!" Torey exclaimed.

Torey was a young seven year old boy who loved two things: his mom and pokemon. His mother looked at him and smiled, wrapping her arm around him. They finally found a grassy bank to settle down on and took a seat, laying back to marvel at the beauty of nature. Torey took his sketchpad and his pencil out of his bag, ready to draw the perfect picture.

Torey's mom pointed towards a Ducklett with its parent, which was a Swanna. Opening his sketchpad, Torey began drawing the outline of the Ducklett and it's Swanna mother huddling together. The Ducklett had its head nuzzled into its mother's body, while the mother wrapped her graceful wing around her child.

After several minutes, Torey finished a rough sketch of the family. He proudly showed it to his mom, who hugged him in approval.

"Honey, I think that was one of the best ones you've ever drawn!"

She looked at Torey, who smiled goofily. He looked back at the scenery before dozing off into his own imaginary world. He wondered what it was like to live as a pokemon. To swim, fly, or run around without a care in the world.

He imagined having one of his best friends come along with him, and they would enjoy the time of their lives, playing tag, swimming in the pond, and flying around in the sky as if they were the kings of the world.

A Spearow came up next to him and cawed, only to be ignored by Torey. He had heard the caw and thought it was part of his daydream. The Spearow jumped up onto his lap, breaking Torey's daydream and sending him back to reality.

"Huh?" Torey looked at the bird, unexpected to see a pokemon come this close to him.

The Spearow looked at Torey with a cocked head, and then turned to the sketch that Torey had drawn up.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Torey asked, tempted to stroke the little bird's head.

Torey's mom looked in surprise at the Spearow, who then grinned at Torey.

"He seems to like you!" she exclaimed.

She rose up onto her feet, petting Torey's head on the way up.

"Torey, I'm going to go get the food from our house. I've decided that we are going to stay a little longer to enjoy our lunch and the view. Can I trust you to stay here?"

Torey nodded. Oh boy! Lunch and an interactive pokemon experience!

"Ok, I'll be back in a few minutes!" She smiled at Torey one last time before turning around and going back down the path.

Torey's mouth curled into a grin. He was hyped about the picnic! He then gasped in shock when the little Spearow on his lap grabbed the page and tore it from the book with its beak. The little bird hopped off his lap and began to fly away. Torey sprung up like a coil and ran after the Spearow, repeatedly begging for it to give back the drawing. The Spearow flew into the woods with Torey hot on its heels before turning around and doubling back, teasing Torey and challenging him to try harder. Torey had jumped several times and got closer to the paper in its beak after each leap, and he was determined to get his drawing back. He KNEW he was going to get it on his next attempt.

The Spearow, who took note of his attempts, also knew that he was going to get it next try, and flew faster, towards the water. Torey, who was so concentrated on grabbing his drawing, didn't take notice of the lake that slowly got closer after each stride. They finally reached the water's edge and the Spearow lifted up, leaving Torey suspended in the air as he took one last attempt at grabbing his precious paper. Torey fell into the water, causing a loud splash. Several Ducklett and Swanna flew away from the scene, scared out of their minds from the sudden disturbance of peace.

"He- Help!" Torey gasped.

He flailed around in the water and tried to keep his head above water. His arms and legs were moving in unorganized and panicked movements. He tried to gasp for air, but as he opened his mouth, water rushed in, filling up his lungs and constricting the flow of air into his chest. Torey tried his best to make it to shore, despite the fact that he did not know how to swim. He thrashed around for another minute, sending more water into his lungs.

Torey was on the verge of giving up, wanting to pass out from exhaustion and oxygen deprivation before he felt a furry body rub up against his legs. He didn't want to look down, for water would've been sent straight up his nose, resulting in an uncomfortable experience. The mystery fur blob that was under water had grabbed hold of his legs before jetting over to the shore. Torey's eye lids drooped, and he let his eyelids drop, tired out from his efforts.

Torey and his mystery savior finally reached the shore, just as his mom came back with the picnic basket.

"Oh my- Torey! Torey, are you okay?" She dropped the picnic basket and ran over to her son and the sea weasel.

"What happened?!" She exclaimed, curious to get an answer from the rescuer.

The creature shrugged, answering in his own name. "Bui bui bui buizel buizel. Buizel bui bui bui buizel. (I don't know it happened. At least I saved him in time.)" His reply was answered with a confused look, which quickly turned into a look of relief.

"I don't know what you said, but thank goodness you saved him." She smiled at the sea weasel before looking down at her son.

Torey began to cough up water and slowly opened his eyes. He coughed a couple more times before sitting up. He sat on the shore in drenched clothing, looking at his mom with apologetic eyes.

"I'm sorry mom. The Spearow took my drawing and I tried to get it back," Torey said. "I should have let him go with the drawing."

She smiled and hugged her son, happy that he was okay, before grabbing the sea weasel and pulling him into a hug as well. Torey looked over at his rescuer and smiled. Another pokemon!

"Oh sweet! A Buizel!" Torey exclaimed, escaping from the hug and grabbing his pencil and sketchpad.

Torey's mom looked at the Buizel and asked, "Would you like to join us for lunch?" The Buizel never had lunch with humans before and was pretty hungry. His stomach grumbled and he looked down, patting his belly. He then looked back up and nodded his head excitedly.

* * *

><p>They had finally finished eating a marvelous meal and watched the scenery. Torey's mom laid back into the grass to rest while Torey scribbled on his sketchbook, getting another detailed picture of Buizel eating a sandwich. He excitedly showed it to Buizel, who smiled at the picture, and then to his mom, who smiled back at him.<p>

"That looks cute! This is definitely your best picture," she looked at Buizel, before looking back at Torey. "Hey, I've been thinking about getting a family pet. Not to just help around the house, but for you to hang around with."

Torey looked at her with a serious face. "What do you mean?" he asked. Was she going to ask if they could keep Buizel?

She looked at him before replying, "Buizel saved you today from drowning, and he seems like a charming pokemon to be with." Buizel's ears perked up when he heard his name being spoken. He looked over to the two and listened intently, making sure not to make it seem obvious.

Torey's mom continued. "What I'm saying is, would you be okay if we asked Buizel to stay?" Torey gave a big smile before hugging his mom tightly.

"Yes! Buizel would fit perfectly with us!" he exclaimed, before releasing his mom. "We should ask him now!"

Buizel overheard everything and thought about what his future would be like with humans. He was still a young pup, and he wondered at the good and bad things of transitioning from the wild life into the human life. The thing that stuck out to him most was that he was going to be with a family. He didn't remember anything about his parents, who had accidentally left him behind when they were resting with a group of wild Buizel and Oshawott. For his whole life, he was living by himself, surviving off Magikarp and Shellder that he had learned to catch and eat. He had no home to return to and no relatives to talk to or rely on.

Buizel's train of thought was interrupted when Torey and his mom approached him. "Hey Buizel, we were just talking about it a moment ago and we had come to you to get a definite answer." Torey scratched his head, not sure how to piece together the next thing he was going to say.

Torey's mom spoke for Torey, saying, "Buizel, we've been wondering if you wanted to come home with us and join us as a family. What do you say?"

Buizel looked at Torey's mom, then at Torey. He smiled. He was going to have a family. A parent to take care of him and a friend that he could consider as a brother. He didn't have to think twice.

Buizel enthusiastically bobbed his head up and down, excited to return to a home. Torey yelled in excitement and tackled Buizel, who then playfully began to fight. Torey's mom couldn't help but smile at the two. Their bond was strong and she knew they would grow up to be great friends.

* * *

><p><span><em><strong>Present<strong>_

Torey shook hands with a trainer before walking up the path, waving good bye after a good battle. But after a few steps forward, a loud voice barked at Torey and his Buizel, who walked beside him.

"Hey you! Were you just looking at me?"

Torey looked around, wondering who had just said that. His Buizel mimicked Torey's movements, looking around for the source of the voice. Torey hadn't been paying attention to his surroundings, and the voice had startled him. He was busy thinking about what his next destination would be, being in the middle of nowhere and HOPEFULLY heading on the right path.

"Wha-"

He was cut short. Another one of those asshole trainers had appeared from nowhere.

"Stupid bastard, you looked at me, I'll kick your ass! Machoke, go!"

The asshole pulled out a pokeball and threw it with force, enthusiasm, and style, unnecessarily twirling around once before releasing a 107 fastball forwards. The ball flew through the air, hit the ground and opened, before retreating back to it's owner's open and outstretched hands.

A bright light appeared, before materializing into an amazingly buff muscle man. Machoke roared, as both an intimidation factor and as a way to show off. Torey sized up the Machoke, before nodding to himself.

Torey groaned, "Oooooooh come on!" He rummaged through his bag until he found a pokeball that contained a Vulpix. "I can't get a damn break. Just a few steps and one of these assholes stop me. I'm never going to get anywhere." Torey muttered under his breath.

"Buizel, you don't have to fight this one. I'll use a different pokemon," Torey said.

"Bui bui! Buizel bui! (No way! I got this!)" Buizel exclaimed, tugging on Torey's pant leg.

"Are you sure you want to fight this?" Torey's question was answered with a confident nod. "Then let's show this prick, Buizel. I choose you!"

Buizel stepped forward, having less than half of his energy left for competition.

"Hah, that little fur ball is going to get his ass kicked!" Machoke's trainer taunted Torey, causing Buizel to glare at him.

"Bui buizel, (We'll show him,)" Buizel muttered softly under his breath, clenching his fists in determination.

Buizel and Machoke sized each other up, before the dickwad trainer said to Torey, "Begin."

"Buizel, use Aqua Jet!"

Buizel wrapped himself in a casket of water, before launching himself at the Machoke.

"Counter it with a Vital Throw, Machoke!"

Machoke grunted in response, readying his stance so that he could catch the pokemon rocketing himself towards him. Buizel got closer and closer to his target.

Torey, seeing Machoke's change in stance, yelled towards his pokemon, "Buizel, disengage Aqua Jet and surprise him with a Water Gun! Then re engage Aqua Jet!"

Buizel emerged from his blanket of water, before spraying the readied Machoke in the face with a Water Gun. Machoke was thrown off by the sudden change in actions, trying it's best to stop the pressurized flow of water and keep it's sight on the Buizel.

The water had blurred it's vision, and Machoke took a step back, struggling to keep his footing. The Water Gun had stopped, and Machoke wiped it's face, regaining it's vision. The second it took to wipe its face, though, proved to be slow on Machoke's part. Machoke took a direct hit in the gut by Buizel, before the sea weasel retreated back.

"Nice one Buizel!" Torey called out.

"Bui buizel! (You know it!)" Buizel acknowledged, keeping his eye on Machoke. The Machoke glared at the smaller pokemon, before hearing an order from it's trainer.

"Are you going to let him show you up like that Machoke? Rush him with a Seismic Toss!"

Machoke snorted in frustration and charged at Buizel like a raging bull. Machoke's eyes blazed with aggression, hungrily wanting to put some hurt onto the orange fur ball.

Buizel slowly grew concerned as the crazy Machoke ran towards him.

"Bui Bui Buizel! (He's getting closer!)" Buizel cried in terror.

"Wait for it…" Torey muttered under his breath. Buizel hadn't heard him, though, and in panic, shot a Water Gun at Machoke.

This did nothing but slightly slow Machoke down. And even if it did slow him down, this only angered Machoke more, and he regained his speed shortly after.

"Buizel hit him with a Water Pulse!"

Buizel raised his arms up in the air, forming a ball of water in his hands, before forcefully slamming it into the ground. The ball travelled slightly above the ground, before reaching it's target. Machoke, still charging towards Buizel, charged through the ball of water, causing the ball of water to erupt. Machoke braced through it, clearly not affected by the blast of water.

Buizel and Torey, shocked by the ineffective attack, stood with their mouths gaping open. Machoke smirked, before slamming Buizel into the air. To Buizel, it seemed like a long moment, as he flew through the air. This moment ended as Machoke grabbed Buizel in the air by his flotation appendage.

Machoke mercilessly slammed Buizel on the ground, causing Torey to cringe and Buizel to black out for a second. Picking him up again, Machoke readied for another slam onto the ground, before…

"Buizel, counter with a Sonic Boom!"

Buizel's tail went loose, and with the twist of his hips, Buizel both slipped out of Machoke's grip and jutted out his tail like a whip. The force of the tail's quick movements sounded a loud crack in the air, disorienting Machoke and giving Buizel time to ready another attack.

"Hit him with an Ice Punch!"

Buizel's right fist glowed a bright white, and Buizel wound up his fist, bringing it back behind him. The power charged up in his fist went to where his Aqua Jet had landed moments ago. The punch landed square in the gut, leaving a trace of ice on his belt. The attack had also slightly tore through his belt.

"Again!"

Buizel's left fist glowed brightly this time, and he wound it behind him before shooting it towards Machoke. This left even more ice, this time surrounding his entire belt.

"Machoke, goddamnit, hit him with a Cross Chop!"

Machoke formed an X with both arms as they glowed white, before hitting Buizel on both sides of his face. Buizel flew backwards a few feet, before landing on his back. Buizel's head felt like jelly after the attack, and Buizel grabbed his face, double checking to make sure that his skull was still intact, before getting up. With trembling legs and tired out arms, he got up with quite a bit of effort. Shaking his head, Buizel got back into a fighting stance.

"Buizel! You've had enough. Return and get a good rest!" Torey got out his pokeball and shot a red beam towards Buizel, who sidestepped out of it's wake. He looked at his pokemon, who looked back and gave an assuring nod.

"Bui bui buizel! (I can still fight!)"

Torey could only smile; that was the Buizel he knew.

"That's the spirit Buizel! Hit him with another Water Pulse!"

Another ball of water formed between Buizel's raised arms, before he shot it towards Machoke. The projectile struck home, forcing Machoke to take a few steps back. Machoke regained footing, but slightly swayed back and forth. The Water Pulse had confused Machoke.

"Machoke, snap out of it!"

The Machoke did not follow, though, and hit itself in the face several times, milking cringes from both trainers.

"Don't let up, Buizel, and finish him with a Sonic Boom!"

This was going to be Torey's ump-teenth victory, as he watched Buizel wind his tail back.

A crack louder than the last Sonic Boom was emitted from the weasel's twin tails, the sound wave hitting both Machoke and…

His belt. The power saving belt that controlled Machoke's strength so that he wouldn't go on a crazed rampage, destroying anything that got in it's path. The very belt that had a rip going halfway down his waist and was encased in ice. The one belt that had been affected by Buizel's Sonic Boom.

The wave of sound impacted Machoke, shattering the ice and fully ripping the belt. The piece of clothing slipped down Machoke's legs, revealing… well, disturbing thoughts.

Buizel was quite intimidated by it's size, but shook the thought away. Machoke felt a surge go through his body as he reached a new level of strength. All respect towards his trainer slowly diminished as Machoke felt he could control the situation himself.

He turned to his trainer and slowly walked up to him, intimidating the confused trainer. They stared at each other for a short moment, before Machoke delivered a massive backhand at his trainer.

The trainer got knocked back a few feet before falling on his back, groaning in pain from the unexpected attack. Machoke then turned back towards the battlefield.

Buizel and Machoke's eyes met, Machoke's eyes flaring with evil, while Buizel whimpered in fear. Buizel took a slight step back, which appeared to be the worst mistake that he might have done.

Machoke took this slight movement as a hostile action, before roaring and rushing at Buizel. Machoke's trainer, surprised by the unauthorized engagement, sat up and yelled towards Machoke.

"Machoke, what are you doing?!"

Machoke ignored the question and grabbed Buizel by the tail after Buizel shot another Sonic Boom in panic.

"Buizel NO!"

Torey quickly took out Buizel's pokeball with shaking hands and tried to return him to safety. But with shaking hands and a quick Machoke, he missed each attempt.

Machoke's trainer also did the same, trying to contain the rampaging Machoke. Red beams flew through the battle ground, all of them dodged by Machoke.

Torey watched in horror as Machoke repeatedly slammed Buizel on the ground, each smack more painful to watch than the last. Bones being shattered could easily be heard. Machoke finally ceased the attack, looking at Buizel with an evil grin. Buizel, whose face had been bloodied and battered, closed his eyes in horror, awaiting his fate.

"STOP HURTING HIM!" Torey desperately yelled.

He ran towards Machoke, hoping he would release his beloved pokemon. Machoke's trainer tried to get up to help Torey, but grimaced in pain after attempting to move his hip, which was dislocated after hitting the ground.

Machoke glanced over towards Torey, before smacking Torey away with his free hand when Torey got close. Torey flew back in the air with grace, helplessly watching the scene unfold in slow motion.

A tear came down Torey's cheek as he watched Machoke slam Buizel onto the ground one last time, watching Buizel's body go limp.

"BUIIIIIZEL!"

Torey watched his best friend die in a violent manner. He saw Buizel's lifeless eyes, before hitting a tree. Everything went black.

* * *

><p>Torey woke up with a start. His face felt hot and he was sweating excessive amounts of his fluids. He gasped fresh air into his lungs as his eyes shot open. It was all just a bad dream.<p>

Torey sighed, bringing his legs into a hug as he felt tears coming to his eyes. His breath became shaky as his lips trembled at the terrifying scene he had just gone through. He felt a tear run down his cheek, and soon he caved in to his emotions. He let out a soft sob, hugging his legs even tighter.

Buizel had awoken from Torey's soft sobbing and raised his head, looking at his best friend in concern. He perked his head up and climbed onto the bed, patting his trainer on the back.

"It was just a bad dream, it was just a bad dream..." Torey said to himself.

He saw Buizel rise from his own bed and comfort him, patting him in the back and snuggling into him. This comforted him as he released a sigh of relief. He looked over at his clock, which read 4:23 AM. At least Torey could get a little bit more sleep and forget about the events in his dream.

Reaching over, Torey grabbed the orange weasel and embraced him in a tight hug.

"B-buizel, I-I was so s-scared that I h-had lost you."

After saying this, he tightened his hug with Buizel.

"Bui Bui (It's ok.)" Buizel softly responded to his trainer, also relieved that his friend was okay.

Torey let go of his hug and collapsed back onto his bed, appeased that it hadn't actually happened, while Buizel climbed off the bed and back onto his own.

He sighed once more.

"Buizel, you'll be with me until the end, right?"

With his eyes closed, he let loose a small chuckle. He let his hand droop down the side of his bed and waited for Buizel's response. There was a wet feeling on his palm as Buizel licked Torey's hand in a comforting response.

"Bui. (Yup)" Buizel replied, Torey assuming that he meant yes.

Torey didn't actually understand the pokemon language, and he couldn't tell what a pokemon was saying without seeing it's facial expressions. But knowing Buizel for a long number of years, he knew that Buizel meant whatever answer he said.

"Of course you will, besides, you ARE my best friend."

Torey drifted back into sleep, knowing that his best friend would always be there for him


	2. The Transformation

Sunlight crashed through the bedroom window, penetrating through the half opened blinds and bouncing off the walls, drenching the room in a beautiful and pristine shade of yellow. Some of the sunlight collided with Torey's eyelids, causing the darkness of closed eyes to be tinted a slight yellow. Torey slowly sat up on his bed, barely opening his eyelids, before stretching his back. He let out a grunt of pleasure as he felt his back wake up from it's sleeping state, cracking several times as he swung his shoulders left and right. He swung his legs over to the side of the bed and looked over to the bedside clock with groggy eyes. It read 7:16 AM. He got up from his sitting position, before heading over to the bathroom to wash up, not noticing the empty bed next to his.

Today was supposed to be a big day for Torey. The week prior, Torey had been tasked by Professor Sycamore to spend time using a mysterious looking orb with his pokemon. It was a perfectly round sphere and was the size of a tennis ball. It had a smooth texture and there were orange, blue, and yellow swirls in the ball. The night before he had spent time marveling at its perfection, admiring the smoothness and the vibrant colors that seemed to shimmer when it was held into the light.

During the recent discovery of rare fossils in the area, Ambrette Town was also hiding several round spheres, similar to the one that Torey had. They all had the same size, and they all felt the same. The only difference was the color scheme. Each had different color schemes to them, and the Professor had pondered as to what could be the use of these stones. The unearthing of these mysterious objects led the Professor to conduct massive research, calling upon several trainers that had wished to volunteer. Scans had shown that the stones had given off some sort of radiation, and the Professor had hypothesized that through this radiation, pokemon could evolve from their basic state. To prove this, Professor Sycamore had given the trainers each their choice of these stones.

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Flashback<span>_**

Torey stood in Professor Sycamore's lab, awaiting further instructions. Upon hearing the news that Professor Sycamore was requesting help from trainers, Torey had rushed all the way from Ambrette Town to Lumiose City. Although it was a long journey, Torey had reached Lumiose City in a groundbreaking three and a half days. On foot.

Exhausted and filthy from the rushed traveling, Torey had discovered that the meeting with Professor Sycamore wasn't until a week after. Annoyed by this, Torey had phoned his mom, saying that he might have to stay extra at Lumiose City because of 'extra requests made by the Professor.'

Torey swayed back and forth on his feet, watching the Professor type away on his computer. His Garchomp had walked by, somewhat intimidating Torey and his Buizel, who stood next to Torey. As much as the Professor assured that the Garchomp was friendly, it's menacing look, no matter how hard it tried to look friendly, was enough to spook out even the toughest trainers. Finally, Professor Sycamore finished with his computer work, swiveling around on his chair. He swiped a briefcase from his desk and walked up to Torey, who had been waiting for almost half an hour.

"Now, I hear that you have come all the way from Ambrette Town?" Sycamore asked, unlocking the briefcase that he held.

"Yes, Professor. All the way from Ambrette Town," Torey answered. He looked over to the briefcase that the Professor held, which was unlocked but still closed.

"Well, I heard the meeting was still a week from now," Sycamore said, causing Torey to rub the back of his head sheepishly. "And that you came here to Lumiose in the span of three days?"

"Uh, yes, Professor. Three and a half, actually. I, uh, eheheh..." Torey nervously answered, laughing almost unenthusiastically and twiddling with his thumbs. Sycamore's lips curled into a smile, and he shook his head.

"I'm just messing with you, Torey; is it Torey?" Sycamore assured/asked, opening the briefcase and looking at its contents, which were still unknown to Torey.

"That's right, Professor! The name's Torey," Torey replied, quickly forgetting about Sycamore's comments on his trip to Lumiose. Sycamore looked around the briefcase and at Torey.

"I love the eagerness," Sycamore chuckled to himself. "And you are how old?" he asked.

"Eighteen years, Professor," Torey replied. Sycamore looked at Torey in the eyes before placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Fantastic. Now, the contents in this briefcase are EXTREMELY valuable, so please be careful with them," Sycamore began, twisting the briefcase around so that Torey could look at the contents. "These are what I like to call 'Mega Stones.'" Sycamore said. In the briefcase were three tennis sized balls, each having a different color scheme. They all seemed to be the same material, and they all looked like they shimmered in the light. Tucked away on the top of the briefcase were three smaller stones that were held back with straps. They all had a rainbow color scheme to it, and had a miniature little swirl outlined in black that most likely symbolized the swirl in the bigger 'Mega Stones.'

"They don't look so 'Mega,'" Torey said. Sycamore shook his head while Buizel face pawed himself.

"Bui bui bui bui bui buizel, (You are so disappointing)" Buizel muttered to himself.

"Torey, that's besides the point," Sycamore said with a small hint of a smile. "The reason why I call these 'Mega Stones' is because of my theory. It has nothing to do with the size of the rock," the Professor declared.

Torey laughed sheepishly. "Eheh, I knew that," Torey lied. Sycamore raised an eyebrow at him.

"Torey, do you remember the fossil findings back at Ambrette?" Sycamore asked. Torey nodded his head, remembering the scene that occurred several weeks ago. "Well, with the fossils, the miners had unearthed something else. Something that could revolutionize the relationship between pokemon and trainer and strengthen the bond that we have had with these creatures for a considerably long amount of time," he said. He slightly moved the briefcase closer to Torey.

"Take your pick," Sycamore offered, letting Torey get a closer look at the stones. Buizel climbed onto Torey's shoulder, curious to see what was in the briefcase as well. There was an orange, blue, and yellow one that caught Buizel's eye and he pointed at it excitedly.

"Bui bui! (That one!)" Buizel exclaimed, jumping up and down on Torey's shoulder. Torey turned his head and looked at his excited pokemon, before turning back to the briefcase.

"Wow, you have the same coloring as this one," Torey said to Buizel, grabbing the sphere with his hands. It felt smooth like marble, and the swirl fascinated both Torey and Buizel. Sycamore unstrapped the rainbow colored stone from the briefcase and handed it to Buizel. Torey was still fascinated by the beautiful design that the stone held and Buizel took the rainbow pebble for Torey.

"Now the rainbow rock that your pokemon is holding is called a Key Stone. Now, with my theory, the Key Stone, when held by a trainer, should react to the Mega Stone that a pokemon is holding. This then starts a Mega Evolution. This transformation shouldn't be permanent, though, and your pokemon should revert to its basic form at the end of a battle. Of course, this might not work since there are different types of these stones and we don't know which stone affects which pokemon, so don't be alarmed if your pokemon doesn't react at all to the stone," Sycamore explained, before turning around and walking back to his desk. He pulled open a drawer, and in it sat multiple bracelets.

"This should allow you to keep the Key Stone on you at all times," Sycamore said, taking a bracelet and tossing it over his desk. Torey barely caught it with his free hand, bouncing it back and forth in a 'hot potato' fashion. Sycamore continued, "Not only does it serve as a case for the Key Stone, but I've imbedded the bracelet with a data recorder. It should record how many times your pokemon has successfully Mega Evolved, if it does Mega Evolve, that is."

"These are only prototypes, though, so if there are any flaws, come see me immediately. And again, the Mega Evolution is only a hypothesis, so there isn't a guarantee that it will work. Now that I've given you everything you need to help me with research, you should be able to continue on with your journey. Sooo, have fun with your new toy!" Sycamore said, bringing his hands together. He had finally finished his lecture and he now directed Torey towards the exit of his lab, before Torey turned to face him. They shook hands, and Torey pushed the door forwards, exiting the building.

"Good luck with your research! Come back to me when you feel you have collected enough data!" Sycamore yelled after Torey, waving goodbye to his first assistant.

* * *

><p><span><em><strong>Present<strong>_

Torey pushed open the door to the bathroom, not paying attention to his reflection on the mirror. Torey placed his hand on the cold water handle, before twisting the handle to turn the faucet on. With half opened eyes, Torey braced himself as he splashed himself with the freezing water. He gasped in surprise and backed away from the sink. He didn't expect it to be that co-

"W-What the... hell?" Torey looked at the reflection in the mirror. He looked... different this morning. Actually, no. That was a HUGE understatement.

Torey felt his facial features, as they have massively changed from what he was normally used to. To start off, he had a massive amount of fur. Well, at least to him, for the most amount of fur he had was the hair on his head. Instead of a normal human nose, he had a muzzle with a black wet nose. On each cheek were marks reminiscent of a football player. There was a tuft of fur perked up on the back of his head, rounding up his facial features. He felt a weird feeling on his behind, as if there was something connected to him just above his butt. He looked back and saw that he had Buizel's signature twin tails, which were one at the base, but split up as they reached the end. Upon looking at his tails, he also noticed the blue fins on his elbows. He looked back at the mirror, taking in the color scheme that his fur had. His body was mainly a bright orange, with a tan underbelly, muzzle, and some tan on the tip of his tail. He noticed something on his neck, which was Buizel's special yellow flotation device.

"W-Why is Bui- I mean my-" What the hell, that just felt so awkward to say. Torey continued with his train of thought. "Ugh, what the- W-Why is my f-floaty thingy shrinking and expanding?" He hadn't noticed, but his breathing had increased. He had said each word after each breath of air. He was panicking, and his deep but fast breaths were causing Torey's flotation device to shrink and expand at a fast pace.

"I-Is this another bad dream?" He splashed himself with more water from the sink, which had still been running as he checked out his new body. Nothing but cold water to the face.

"I-I've been... transformed?" Torey pondered at how this might have happened. Transformation only occurred with Pokémon, and that was through evolution. But Torey was no Pokémon, he was a trainer for crying out loud.

"Pfft, t-that's silly. besides w-why am I s-still my normal height?" Torey told himself with fake confidence. "I'm just going to get a little more sleep. Besides, my alarm doesn't usually ring until 8:00." Torey walked back to his bed, fake laughing to himself at how stupid of a thought he was just thinking about. He blinked for a second, but in that second, he felt the world around him get larger. Opening his eyes, he was shocked to see the sudden change in size.

Torey took in his surroundings. Everything seemed so new to him, his room had gotten twice as big. He looked around for another minute, still shocked as to what had happened to him. His face felt like it was about to burst, and he realized that he had been holding in a breath for a whole minute. He let go of his breath, and deeply inhaled again, stocking his oxygen deprived lungs with fresh air.

"No no no no... What's happening to me?!" Torey said to himself, his voice slightly rasping and squeaking at the end of his question. He put a paw to his mouth. "Did my voice just crack?" He had already gone through puberty... right?

"Wait, where's Buizel?" Torey slowly spun around his room several times, quickly but thoroughly scanning every corner of the room, until finally rotating a full 360 degrees.

"If... If I'm Torey, and a Buizel, and Buizel is gone, does that mean..." Realization hit him like a locomotive going a million miles an hour.

"I-I'm..." His voice squeaked and it felt like his vocal cords snapped, stopping his rambling for a short moment. Torey coughed, trying his best to regain his voice, the only thing left that distinguished his fading human character. For a solid half minute, Torey continually coughed, until he felt like he was actually doing physical damage to his throat.

"Bui Bui! (My voice!)" Torey had fully undergone the transition. He was a Buizel, more specifically HIS Buizel. Torey thought about how he was his best friend, slightly comforted for a short moment, even if it sounded awkward. The more he thought about it, the more disturbing it seemed. "I should stop thinking about it." He thought to himself. At least the both of them will be together for a looooooooong time.

"Bui buizel bui! (The Mega Stone!)" Torey exclaimed, looking around for the precious rock that Professor Sycamore had entrusted him with. He climbed onto his chair, which was pushed into his desk, before peeking over and spotting the orb. Torey took it in his paws, wondering if this transformation was a side effect of extended exposure to the Mega Stone. Torey's nerves tingled as he felt the Mega Stone's presence. He put down the stone, still feeling the Stone's presence, before picking up the bracelet and Key Stone.

"Bui bui bui buizel bui bui buizel bui buizel bui? (How am I supposed to tell Professor Sycamore about this?)" Torey said to himself quietly. He couldn't get data to Sycamore, he wasn't sure if the transformation was only a side effect, and he didn't know how he had changed to begin with.

"Torey! Are you awake? Your breakfast is ready!" A feminine voice rang throughout the house, causing Torey to drop the bracelet and Key Stone on his desk with a thud. Torey looked at his bedroom door in horror.

"Buuuuuuuuiiii! (Oooooooh no)" His mom had been awake. How would she react to Torey's disappearance? Would she be worried? Would she possibly find out that he was the Buizel that stood on Torey's desk? Did she listen in on his rambling?

He panicked, hearing his mom's footsteps nearing the door. "Oh what am I going to do?" Torey thought to himself. He climbed off the desk and looked around the room, also taking note of his mom whose steps got louder after every stride. "There!" Torey looked at the laundry hamper tucked away behind his open closet. Taking one last glance at the door, Torey got on all fours and sprinted towards the small basket of clothes, diving deep into the filthy clothes as the door opened.

"Torey?" Torey poked his head out of the basket, watching his mom's every movement as she stepped into the room. He saw her concerned face as she saw the empty bed. A pang of guilt shot through his stomach, before Torey's mom turned towards the open closet, in which Torey ducked his head just in time.

"Ooh Buizel, you silly pokemon!" Her face lightened up as she saw the playful sea otter and weasel combo hiding in the basket. She walked towards the laundry hamper. Unfortunately for Torey, he had forgotten about the tuft of fur that stood up at the back of his head, which stuck out of the ocean of clothes like a submarine's periscope. Torey's mom dug through the basket, unearthing the surprised Torey.

"Bui! (Aah!)" Torey stood in the basket, looking up at his mom with wide eyes. She picked Torey up and cradled him in her arms, not knowing that she was holding a wide eyed Torey.

"Bui! Bui, Bui buizel! (Mom! Mom it's me!)" Torey desperately attempted to tell his mom about what happened this morning. Of course, this effort went unnoticed, as his mom was now petting his head, scratching under his chin, and tickling his belly. Torey quite enjoyed this feeling of pleasure, forgetting about why he was worried just a moment ago.

"Buiiiiii..." Torey let out a sigh of pleasure as he felt his body completely turn to jelly. Torey's mom chuckled at Torey's face, who had a goofy grin on with closed eyes, as she continued to pet him. She stopped shortly after and placed the Buizel onto the ground.

"Bui? Bui buizel? (Huh? Why'd you stop?)" Torey got up on his hind legs and hugged his mom's leg, snuggling into her soft pajamas.

She laughed slightly before returning to her original, worried expression.

"Buizel, have you seen Torey this morning?" Torey returned to his original expression as well.

"Buiiii... Bui Bui buizel... (Uhhh... About that...) Buizel let go of her leg and rubbed the back of his drooping head, looking down at his toes. What Torey thought was a guilty look, looked like an adorable sight to his mom, who grinned at him.

"Bui... Buizel Bui? (He... is me?) Torey mentally slapped himself in the face. That sounded so stupid. He looked up at his mom, hopeful that she understood what he had said.

"Oh Buizel you are so adorable!" She picked up Torey and carried him out of the room. "Let's have some breakfast! I have some of your favorite pokepellets for you!" Torey facepawed himself, his efforts had gone completely unnoticed once more. His mom was completely oblivious that she WAS holding Torey.


	3. The Kidnapping

Torey's bowl was placed on the floor with a soft thud, complete with a generous amount of flavored pokepellets. The bowl was stacked high with these delicious delicacies, and Torey's mouth was watering for any kind of savory treat that he could get. Of course, he dumbly looked at the food when it was given to him. Torey was quite a picky eater, and had never tried any pokepellets before. He certainly didn't want to start now.

"Bui Bui Buizel Bui! (I can't eat this!)" Buizel frantically flailed his arms in the air, hoping that his mom would understand the message he was trying to convey to her.

"Awwww, Buizel, do you want more?" Torey's mom had gotten the message wrong and got out of her chair, walking towards the pantry to grab more pokepellets.

"BUI! Bui Bui Bui Bui!" (NO! No no no no!)" Torey intensified his vigorous body motions, looking like he was drowning in invisible water. It was useless.

She had already emptied half the bag into another bowl and bent down to place it next to the first. She patted Torey's head and got back up, heading back to her seat to sip more of her steaming, freshly brewed tea.

Torey stared blankly at both bowls before him. "Bui Bui Buizel! (This is hopeless!)" Torey sighed in frustration, before collapsing onto the hardwood floor on his butt, crossing his arms and turning his head away with his eyes closed.

"Buizel, are you okay?" Torey's mom had a concerned smile on her face, looking caringly at Buizel. Torey didn't reply.

She got out of her seat and walked towards Torey, still keeping her gaze on the clearly upset Pokémon. Kneeling down, she put her hand on his small shoulder.

"Please eat. I prepared this just for you, Buizel!" She grabbed a pokepellet from the bowl and allowed Torey to sniff it. Upon sniffing it, his mindset on the pokepellets changed. A good whiff of the pellet had the aroma of seafood, particularly fish. Now, Torey would have immediately turned down fish and would have taken a different seafood dish, such as shrimp, or lobster. But being turned into a Buizel, the scent of fish sparked something in his head. A grumbling was emitted from Torey's stomach, who opened his eyes and looked down at is belly. Torey rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, and he looked at the pellet with more interest. He gave another good whiff, before taking the pellet from his mom's hands.

Torey looked to his mom's assuring eyes, before looking back at the pellet. He took a deep breath, pinched his nose, and took a bite of the pellet. Despite being a Buizel, he was still Torey, and because of this he cringed a little, expecting the pellet to taste like utter crap.

His teeth bit into the soft but firm pellet. The chunk he bit off came in contact with his tongue, and the mild taste of fish kicked in. The slight hint of sea salt in the fish made the meal quite savory. Taking a few more bites and a few more pellets, Torey found out that he actually enjoyed the pellets. He wolfed down his first bowl of pellets, not stopping to take a breather until he finished the dish.

Torey had a smug look on his face and faced the second dish with droopy eyelids. Boy, that was a lot of pellets. He gave a small burp before quickly covering his mouth with his paws.

"Bui. (Whoops)" His mom grinned at the satisfied Buizel, happy that he enjoyed the meal that she prepared for him. She saw him eyeing the next bowl, and thought otherwise on him devouring the second towering pile of pellets. She quickly grabbed the bowl and pulled it away from Torey before he could dig in.

"Buiiiiii? (Pleeeeeease?)" Torey reached his arms out, motioning for the food to come back. With a small chuckle, Torey's mom shook her head and placed the bowl on the counter.

"You can have it later, sweetie. Let's go on a walk! Let's use all that energy for something other than sitting around the house." Torey looked at her with his head slightly tilted to the side, waiting for a clarification on what she meant. Going on a walk could range from going to the nearest tree and back or going on a multi-day trek to the next city. Without giving a clear answer, she got out of her seat and walked over to the master bedroom, bringing along her cooled down cup of tea.

* * *

><p>They walked out the front door with a bag for the groceries, breathing in the cool, crisp morning air. There was a slight fog, which was supposed to subside within the hour. They began walking towards Pewter City.<p>

The cozy residence that Torey had called home for his whole life was situated on the outskirts of Ambrette Town, just after the start of Kalos Route 9.

"We should head over to the supermarket, Buizel. We need to get our food for the week." Torey sighed. He never liked these trips to the market. They took too long and... well, that's about it. They just took too long. His mom noticed him sigh and looked at him cheerfully.

"We are out of pokepellets..." Torey's head perked up at this statement. "Maybe you want to stay behind and play in the yard while I go ahead and grab the groceries?" Torey nodded his head. "I might not have enough hands to carry along the pokepellets, though." She put on a playful sad face and directed it towards Torey, who stuck his tongue out at her. She began to walk ahead, leaving Torey behind.

"I guess that means I'm coming along, then." Torey thought to himself. He raced up to her on all fours, slowing down when he had caught up to her and getting up on his hind legs.

* * *

><p>The silence of the peaceful forest was broken with the sound of footsteps scurrying along. Piles of fallen leaves were knocked into the air and the sound of snapping branches and twigs could be heard several yards away. Sounds of laughter and panting breaths could also be heard.<p>

"You won't be able to catch me, Brelly!" A small, white squirrel with an excessively bushy tail, yellow cheeks, and white fur with a pale blue stripe running down it's body raced within the woods, darting through leaves and weaving in between trees and bushes. **(I will not be using parenthesis when the dialogue is between two Pokémon.)**

"Don't get too cocky!" A kangaroo-like Pokémon that had a mainly green body with a mushroom cap on his head silently hopped ahead of his friend, who was unaware of his position. Hopping a little bit further, he stopped and hid behind a tree, waiting for his victim to come by.

The squirrel stopped for a moment, confused at the sudden silence that was pursuing her just moments ago.

"Brelly, where are you?" She looked around for a brief moment before taking a few steps forward, walking over some fallen branches and leaves.

"Perfect..." The mushroom kangaroo muttered to himself as he readied himself to pounce on his friend.

"Gotcha Pachi!" Brelly heard a twig snap, taking this as his cue to finally catch the small Pachirisu. He dived forwards, expecting the small Pokémon to cry out in surprise.

Instead, he pounced on nothing and tackled the air. He dived in front of Patchi, who held a look of surprise on her face. He hit the muddy terrain and planted his face into the ground. Pachi looked at the fallen Breloom, who was groaning in pain, before welling up in tears.

"Oh Brelly, I'm so- I'm so sorry!" She tried her best to stifle a laugh, putting a paw to her mouth. She couldn't hold it in much longer and finally burst into laughter. Her legs grew weak, her tears flowed down her cheeks, and she eventually fell on the ground, rolling around in intense laughter.

Brelly looked at Pachi and rolled his eyes, before asking her a question. "Sorry for what?"

"For- For la-laughing at y-you!" She laughed even harder after saying that, pounding the ground with her fist as she clutched her stomach.

Brelly sighed, before sitting up and looking at Pachi. He couldn't help but smile at the Pokémon before him, her laughter was quite a contagious disease. Soon, he broke into a small laugh as well. Brelly knew Pachi for several years now, and they became good friends. They treated each other like brother and sister, and treated the other Pokémon that were back in the forest like family. Compared to the other Pokémon in their group, they were somewhat young compared to their companions. The both of them were on the brink of breaking through their teen years and beginning their adult life.

The two laughed for several more minutes, spilling tears onto the already muddy ground, making it even muddier. Finally, the laughing ceased to a slight chuckle. Brelly was the first to get up, brushing the mud off his arms, chest and face. He stretched out a hand towards Pachi, who took it and was pulled up to her feet. She brushed off the mud that got stuck on her bright white fur, before trying her best to reach her back. Brelly noticed Pachi's struggle, which looked quite cute due to her stubby arms. He helped her out, getting the hard to reach spots on her back while she cleaned up her tail.

"That was fun!" Pachi exclaimed. "We should do that again!"

"Yeah, we should..." Brelly lied, rubbing his throbbing head. Pachi giggled and looked up at him with a bright smile.

"We should start a new game." She pointed her finger at him and moved it closer.

"Your-" She was stopped by Brelly.

"NOPE! Nope, we aren't playing again!" He gently smacked Pachi's hand away, who giggled again. "And I certainly am not going to be it!"

She scurried behind Brelly, grabbing onto his tail before climbing up onto his back. "So what now?"

"Well, I think we are getting pretty close to the city, so do you want to head back?" Brelly, who was much like an older brother to Pachi, was very protective of her. He didn't want her wandering into the city and getting lost. Besides, their elders had deemed the city too dangerous for wild Pokémon to venture into.

"Head back? Pfft, we've only been out here for like half an hour." She rubbed her chin, wondering about what else they could do during their free time. A mischievous smirk appeared on Pachi's face. Uh-oh, it looks like one of her silly ideas.

"Maaaaaaybe, just maybe..., doyouwanttoheadintothetown?" She said that to Brelly at blinding speed, who lost her after the third word.

He turned his head to look at her, before scrunching his face up in a confused expression. "What?" Pachi playfully smacked him in the back of the head and giggled once more. She took a deep breath, afraid that Brelly might turn down her offer.

"Do you want to head into the... you know?" She looked at Brelly with a hopeful smile.

Brelly sighed. "You know we can't go in there, right? It's too dangerous." He looked at her with a serious look.

"How would you know? You haven't been in there!" Pachi desperately wanted to go into Ambrette Town, as her curious nature had always pulled her into trouble. Like that time when she and Brelly wondered why there were a bunch of cocoon Pokémon on a tree, which turned out to be a group of Kakuna. Which hatched into a swarm of Beedrill. In which they had to run as fast as they could, getting stung multiple times in the back. An exhilarating, but not enjoyable experience. And that time where she wondered what was across the river, and the only way across was by a very thin log that bent under her weight. It did not end too well, and the log snapped, bringing her down into the water. Again, not a pleasant experience.

"That's what you said when we were at the river! Remember that? And besides, what could we do at the town?" Pachi jumped off of Brelly's back as he began walking away from her.

"Come on, let's head back." He turned back towards Pachi, beckoning for her to come walk with him.

"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaase?" Pachi looked at Brelly with sparkling eyes and a toothy grin.

"Shit, not that face." Brelly thought to himself. His heart melted whenever he saw Pachi like that, forcing him to comply with whatever she wanted, afraid that if he were to disagree with her, he might make such an adorable face cry a river of tears.

He took a deep breath, mentally getting into a team huddle with himself. "Screw it, let's go!" He walked back over to Pachi, who ran over to him and gave him a hug.

"Yay! I knew you'd be cool enough! Now, onwards to Ambrette Town!" She climbed back onto his back and perched on his shoulder, stretching her arm out towards the sky as if she was proudly holding a sword.

Brelly scoffed at her. "You can be crazy sometimes, you know that?" He smiled at Pachi, who smiled back. They walked onwards, before Brelly stopped in his tracks.

"Umm, eheheh, do you know which way the city is?" He smiled sheepishly at Pachi, who shrugged.

"I'm not sure, I think it's that way!" She pointed to their right. "We'll get there soon enough!" Pachi answered optimistically, forcing another enthusiastic pose on Brelly's shoulder.

* * *

><p>Torey and his mom walked towards the cashier of the supermarket with hands full of groceries. His mom carried a bag of fresh fruits and vegetables, along with a carton of milk. Torey held in his right paw a bag of biscuits and a box of eggs on his left. In his mouth were two bag of fish flavored pokepellets.<p>

They turned out of the frozen aisle in the grocery store, approaching the cashier with their bags of goods. The clerk scanned each item in the bag, typing away on his keyboard that had extra keys that nobody ever pressed or knew about. A small monitor behind him showed the items that they were buying.

Tomatoes. Scan. Beep. $2.00. Cabbage. Scan. Beep. $3.00. Carton of milk. Scan. Beep. $1.50.

The clerk scanned the rest of the items in the bag, before looking at Torey, who had the biscuits, eggs, and pokepellets. Torey handed the eggs and biscuits to his mom, who gave it to the cashier, who scanned the items.

Biscuits. Scan. Beep. $2.00. Eggs. Scan. Beep. $2.00.

The cashier and Torey's mom now looked at the Buizel, who still had the bags of pokepellets in his mouth. Torey shook his head and sat on the floor with his arms crossed, his eyes closed, and his head turned away.

A muffled voiced came from behind the bag. "Bui. (Mine.)" Torey's mom and the cashier looked at each other laughed softly.

"That Buizel must really love pokepellets." The cashier told Torey's mom, who nodded. She picked up Torey, who still had the bag of pokepellets in his mouth, and put him on the black conveyer belt. The clerk aimed the price gun at the bar code on both bags, before picking up Torey and handing him back to his mom.

Pokepellets. Scan. Beep. $3.50. Pokepellets. Scan. Beep. $3.50.

The clerk tapped a few more keys in and a total came up onto the monitor. $47.69. Torey's mom took out her credit card and swiped it on the machine, which emitted a beep after it slid. With a smile, the clerk handed Torey and his mom the groceries.

"Thank you! Have a good day!" The clerk said.

"You too!/Bui! (You too!)" Torey and his mom said to the cashier before walking out the door of the grocery store.

They walked back out into the streets of Ambrette Town. The fog had subsided and the sun had come out, warming the two of them up after being in the air conditioned building for half an hour.

"Well, let's head home! Right, Buizel?" She looked over to Torey, who still had the pokepellets in his mouth.

"Bui Bui! (That's right!)" Torey's mom chuckled at the muffled voice.

* * *

><p>Torey and his mom had finally passed the town limits, calmly walking down Kalos Route 9. Torey's mom still had the bag of groceries in her hands, while Torey held the eggs and biscuits with his double tails. He also held the pokepellets in his front paws, in which he had already opened one bag and was eating them as if they were a bag of chips. He continued to munch on them, knowing that it was not supposed to be what he was doing, for that was his supply of food for the whole week.<p>

Torey's mom noticed a faint munching noise and looked over at Torey, who was happily grabbing into the bag and pulling out generous amounts of pokepellets and stuffing them into his mouth.

"Gah! Buizel! Stop it!" Torey, who was startled from his concentrated eating, dropped the bag.

"Bui Bui buizel Bui! (I wasn't eating!)" He looked at his mom with wide eyes and a gaping mouth, letting some chewed up pellets slip from his mouth.

Torey's mom put down the paper bags and took the pokepellets, dropping them into the grocery bags. She then turned to Torey.

"Look, I know they are good to eat, but I can't have you eat these constantly. You might get sick if you eat too much, and even if you don't, you might not be fit for the road when Torey comes back." Torey gulped down a golf ball in his throat. He forgot that she still didn't know.

"These pokepellets have a considerable amount of salt in them. It becomes unhealthy if you eat too much. You can become dehydrated, despite the fact that you are a water type. It also clogs up the arteries and..." Torey let his mom ramble on about how too much salt is bad for him.

He was too distracted on something else. He saw the bush behind his mom rustle, as if some unknown monster was lurking in the brush. Buizel felt his face flare up, and his body felt jittery. He felt his legs go weak, on the brink of collapsing underneath him. Torey took a cautious step back, small enough to go unnoticed by his mom. His whole body felt like tiny needles were puncturing his skin. Sweat rolled down the side of his face as he had a hard time trying to focus on both the bush and his mom's lecture.

"...which is the exact reason why you don't eat too many pokepellets!" A mighty roar rang through the forest trail, and from the shaking bush emerged a wild Mightyena. It attacked Torey, pouncing on it's victim and dragging him away with his teeth, digging into the tube on his neck. Torey dropped the eggs and biscuits and flailed around, trying to escape it's attacker's grasp.

"Bui! Bui! (Mom! Help!)" Torey got pulled back slowly, watching his mom stare at the Mightyena in shock. She had no experience with any wild Pokémon, and she couldn't build up the will to hurt one, even if it was to save her own life or a loved one.

It looked at Torey's mom one last time, giving a hostile glare and snarling at her, before disappearing into the shrubbery. Torey got dragged back farther into the brush, slowly getting farther and farther away from the safe and comforting presence of his mother.

* * *

><p>"Pachi, I think we're lost." Brelly hung his head in despair. They were genuinely lost.<p>

"No we're not! I can see one of those weird looking creatures that all look the same. Maybe that means we're getting close to the town!" Pachi pointed past the bushes and trees, and Brelly found where her finger landed. They had finally gotten out of the forest and found a main path! Brelly ran towards the path, pushing through the shrubs and bushes. They finally got through, only to find a wide eyed women with a gaping mouth looking towards other side of the path, holding onto two paper bags full of groceries.

"H-h-he's gone..." the woman said. Pachi and Brelly looked towards her, confused as to what she was talking about.

"Let's go check it out! There might be something wrong!" Pachi jumped off Brelly's shoulder and ran towards the mystery lady before Brelly could say anything.

Pachi walked up to the woman before speaking up to her. "Pachi pa chupa? (Are you okay?)" The woman turned towards the little squirrel, who looked like she was on the verge of tears.

"I-I didn't do anything to save him..." The woman collapsed onto the floor and began to cry, dropping all of her groceries.

Pachi looked over to Brelly, who nodded. He went over to the other side of the path, looking for any sign of this person or Pokémon that the woman referred to as 'him.'

After a short while, Brelly gave a frustrated sigh and glanced towards Pachi, who was watching him. "Pachi, my tracking skills suck ass. Do you want to take over?" Pachi shrugged and walked over to him.

"Brelly, go ask her what 'he' looks like." Brelly walked over to the crying woman and began to regret the switch. He couldn't talk to anything if it was sad, depressed, and crying.

"Bre Breloom loom? (You wanna talk about it?)" He didn't know if that was the right thing to say, the wrong way to start things off, or if she could understand him at all.

The lady tried to stop crying for a moment, hearing the Breloom try to communicate with her. To Breloom's luck, she gave a crystal clear answer.

"Buizel. I c-couldn't save Buizel..." She burst into tears again, forcing Breloom to back up awkwardly. He walked over to Pachi, who was sniffing the ground and looking for tracks.

Without looking up, Pachi continued sniffing the ground. "To be honest, my tracking skills are pretty trash as well. Did you get anything?" Brelly nodded his head.

"She gave a pretty clear and direct answer. She said something about a Buizel."

Pachi continued sniffing the ground before smelling a distinct odor. "Fish. It smells like fish. So that's confirmed the Buizel, they love fish." She also glanced over to a pair of paw prints. Next to them looked like drag marks in the dirt. "It looks like this Pokémon got dragged away..." She got up on her hind legs and began to rub her chin. "I got it!"

"What is it?" Brelly looked at Pachi, waiting for an answer. He had looked at the paw prints and drag marks but could not come to a conclusion. Along with his tracking skills, his analytic abilities were below average.

"This Buizel must have been dragged away from it's owner by another Pokémon! Come on we have to find 'him'!" Pachi broke off into a run, before Brelly stopped her.

"How about the lady? What do I do with her?" Brelly looked back at the crying owner, who was sobbing violently.

"Uh, uh... shit." Pachi had a knack for mischievous and naughty ideas, and another one of those seemed to have quickly popped into her head.

"Brelly, maybe use Sleep Powder on her. She looks like she needs rest anyways." Brelly looked at the squirrel in disbelief.

"E-excuse me? Did I hear wrong or did you just suggest to hit her with a Sleep Powder?" Pachi looked at him assertively and nodded.

"Oh my Arceus." Brelly was a Pokémon that only used his abilities for a good cause. "Okay, so we put her to sleep. And then what? She's going to be left out here alone. ALONE. ASLEEP. You know how many things can go wrong? Hell, what if I hit her with too much? She'll be asleep for three days tops!" He shook his head in disapproval.

"We'll be back quick! We just have to follow these paw prints until we find the kidnapper. We'll kick his ass, and then we'll take the Buizel back to her." She pointed towards the woman, who this time had finally cried her eyes out. They were swollen red and she had no more tears to let loose. She took deep and shaky breaths, sniffling and hiccupping every now and then.

"Besides, he couldn't have gone far, especially having to drag the Buizel along." Brelly had another team huddle with himself, before finally deciding on what to do.

"Fine, I'll hit her with a Sleep Powder." The bulb on Brelly's tail began to light up as he produced the sleep inducing grains of powder. He turned to face the woman and pointed his mushroom cap at her, letting loose a fine purple powder through the red pores on his head.

Or at least that's what he would have done. In their argument, the woman had quickly fallen asleep beside the trail.

Brelly face pawed himself before turning back to face Pachi. She shrugged. "Come on, we can't waste time! We need to return Buizel to his owner." They ran off the route, hopping over a bush before following the trail left by the suspect.


	4. The Battle

Torey was about to give up his attempts of escape. This dude has jaws made of iron. He pondered about what he would do, before an idea sparked the dying fire of his chances of escape. Torey decided he would test his intelligence. He would see if he could get the Mightyena to talk, opening his mouth in the process.

"Eheh, nice weather today, isn't it?" The Mightyena kept his jaws on Torey. Torey continued. "Soooo, uh, my name is, uh, Torey. What's yours?" The Mightyena's jaws clamped down even tighter on Torey, who went into a spastic fit, desperately trying to grab his newly made friend's jaw.

"Holy Arceus! Yeah! Nice- Nice to meet y-" Torey grimaced in pain as the Mightyena tightened his jaws even more.

"GAAAAAAH! What the hell man?!" Torey felt the breath of the Mightyena on his neck, who sighed in annoyance, loosening his bite on Torey. The Mightyena wanted him in one piece anyways. For Torey, this trip would be endless attempts at escape, all of which ended up with a tighter bite. For the Mightyena, he would have to suck it up and endure this fool's annoying voice.

They walked forward in silence for a little while, before Buizel opened his mouth. He hesitated, and then closed his mouth. If he were to try again, it would just end up with another pain sequence. His neck felt somewhat numb, especially after the countless number of times it has been bitten down during this walk. Well, he's gotta do something in order to escape. He decided he'd give this one idea a go, a test of endurance. Well, with all this talking, you could say that the Mightyena had already gone through an endurance test. If you wanted, you could count this as a second endurance test.

"Hey bro, want to hear a joke?" The Mightyena bit down slightly harder. Torey scrunched his face up in pain before continuing. "What did the Seedot say to the other Seedot?" The Mightyena clenched his jaw even more, but Torey kept going. "AH! He said, 'I do NUT like you!'" He burst into a fake laugh. Torey thought he was very good at those. The Mightyena thought otherwise, rolling his eyes and sighing in annoyance once more.

"Oh come on, it was funny!" He continued on with the act. "Come on, man. Don't be that guy. You gotta gimme some props at least." Little did the Mightyena know, Torey had slowly slipped his tail towards his ribcage. In all the fake laughter, he jabbed the Mightyena, who bit down even harder. Torey, who was desperate to escape, did not let up. He began applying pressure and rubbing at the same time, engaging a tickle attack. The Mightyena, who was desperately trying his best not to laugh, clenched his jaw as much as he could.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHH! I WILL ESCAPE!" Torey ignored the pain as much as he could, intensifying his attack. He moved one of his tails underneath the canine's leg pits, using the fur on the tip of his tail like a feather. Tears began to form on the quadruped Pokémon, showing that his inevitable defeat was near. The Mightyena closed his eyes, bracing himself for the ultimate dagger in tickling history.

"LAUGH! Laugh at the joke!" He finally stuck both tails in the two front leg pits and tickled as hard as he could. The Mightyena's eye's shot open, as well as it's mouth, and it broke into an uncontrollable laugh. He giggled madly like a lunatic, rolling over on the ground.

Torey took this as his chance to escape. He began to run back the way he came, glancing over his shoulder to see what had happened to the Mightyena.

The Mightyena had stopped laughing and chased after Torey, catching up to him within ten strides. He tackled Torey, who fell forwards and hit a tree.

"I'm going to fucking kill you!" The Mightyena snarled at the helpless Torey. "I've had enough of your bullshit!" The Mightyena bared his fangs and pinned Torey against the base of the tree. Torey tensed up, bracing himself for the pain that he was about to receive.

"Crunch!" The Mightyena yelled out, before another voice came from behind the bushes. He stopped his attack, and looked over at the source of the noise.

"Mach Punch!" A squirrel with an amazingly bushy tail was perched on the shoulder of a kangaroo-like pokemon with a mushroom cap and a bulb at the end of its tail. They looked at the Pokémon that had Torey pinned down before the mushroom kangaroo threw a blindingly fast punch at the canine. The Mightyena flew back a few feet before getting back on it's paws. It glared at the intruders for a moment before turning around, quickly running away from the newcomers.

"Come on, we need to get out of here." The mushroom kangaroo offered a hand, in which Torey gladly took. Torey looked into his eyes.

"Thanks for the rescue. Who are you guys?" Torey looked at the mushroom kangaroo, before laying his eyes on...

"Holy Arceus, she is cute." Torey looked at the squirrel, who smiled at him and gave a friendly wave. Torey blushed madly and looked away, thinking about how wrong this seemed. He was a Pokémon with a human mind, and being turned into a Buizel must have changed what he thought was attractive or not. He did not realize that he had said this out loud, and covered his mouth with his paws, blushing even more. His cheeks turned into a brighter red and his stomach began doing backflips.

The kangaroo, who thought Torey was about to sneeze, blessed him in advance, despite the fact that his cheeks looked like tomatoes. The squirrel, who had clearly heard what Torey said, giggled, blushing as well.

"The name's Brelly. This is my good friend Pachi. We are practically siblings. Right?" He looked at Pachi, who was giggling uncontrollably and hid her face behind her tail. The compliment had clearly gotten to her, but the oblivious Brelly thought she was going to sneeze as well.

"Bless you, Pachi." He turned his head to face the squirrel, who replied back with a shaky voice.

"T-thank you." She cleared her throat and controlled her laughter, removing the tail from her face and looked down at Torey. She jumped off Brelly's shoulder, leaving the Breloom to keep an eye out for any returning intruders. "Okay, we should go now, before the Mightyena pack comes back." She looked at Torey, whose blush had subsided and was still avoiding eye contact with her. He was too embarrassed to look at her.

He finally built up the courage to look at the Pachirisu, and turned his body to face her. Oh Arceus , she was walking towards him. He couldn't turn back, it just felt rude if he ignored her again. He felt his cheeks flare up again, and his face turned back into a tomato. It was quite obvious on his tan muzzle.

"Hey, is something bothering you?" Pachi had walked up to him and asked him a question.

"Oh no, what should I do, she's talking to me!" Torey thought in his head.

"N-no, nothing is bothering me." He lied, causing the Pachirisu to tilt her head in concern. He blushed even more as Pachi reached over and touched the tube on his neck, examining the bite marks that were left from the Mightyena. He jumped at her soft paws and his heart rate increased tenfold. He kind of liked her touch, it was very delicate and gentle.

"So you haven't introduced yourself yet," she looked into his eyes with interest. "Let's start with your name! What's your name?" She looked back at the wound and examined it further.

"M-m-my name's T-Torey," Torey stammered, slightly relieved that he introduced himself to her.

She took her tail and wiped off the excess saliva that the Mightyena left on Torey. Like her paws, it was soft to the touch. "Does it hurt here?" She rubbed a spot next the bite mark.

"Y-yeah, a little bit." He half-lied. It did hurt, but it was an unbearable pain rather than, say, a bee sting. He hoped she would continue to massage the bite mark, as he enjoyed the feeling of her soft fur against his. Pachi turned towards Brelly, unintentionally rubbing her tail against Torey's face. He blushed at the contact before looking back at her, who had her back faced towards him. He observed her body and bushy tail, before finding himself staring at...

"NOPE! Nonononononoono" Torey yelled at himself in his mind, looking away from the spot behind her tail. "What are you thinking?! You just met the girl!"

"Brelly, can you come over here?" Pachi yelled to him, who came over quickly.

"What is it?" Pachi turned back towards Torey and pointed at his bite mark, gently touching the wound with her paws.

"You think you can produce just a tiny amount of Stun Powder so we can put it on the wound?" Brelly thought about the idea, before asking Torey how much it hurt.

"Just a little bit." He lied again. He felt more comfortable talking to Brelly. He seemed like a cool dude.

"Ok... This is going to be tricky. A pinch more of powder can paralyze you for half an hour." The bulb on his tail lighted up, preparing the small amount of powder to spread on the wound.

A faint growl came from the bush behind Torey, which was followed by several more growls. Brelly, Pachi, and Torey froze. Their bodies tensed up, listening closely to whatever was rustling the vegetation.

Brelly shook away the idea that someone was watching them and continued nursing Torey's injury. Pachi, though, left the two of them, curious to what could be watching them. Could it be a Haunter? It felt like someone else was present at the scene.

Torey watched Pachi as a sweat rolled down the side of his face. It felt just like when he got taken from his mom. It didn't feel right. The volume of the growling increased in volume and numbers, causing Pachi to take a step back from the bushes, grabbing her tail and hugging it in front of her.

"Pachi, look out!" Torey pushed Brelly out of the way, knocking some of the spores on his head onto his fur, and dove towards Pachi, tackling her away from a Mightyena that emerged from the bush in front of her. They flew a for a short while as Torey twisted his body in mid air, taking the impact on the ground for Pachi. Pachi's fall was absorbed by Torey as they slid a few feet. The Mightyena then charged at Brelly.

Pachi closed her eyes shut and clutched Torey's chest as they touched down on the dirt, and further continued to keep her eyes shut after they had come to a stop. Torey looked at the Pachirisu that still clung to his chest for dear life. He felt his heart begin to flutter in his chest and Butterfrees violently fly around in his stomach. He blushed at the position they were in. He didn't expect to end up in a position like this.

Pachi opened her eyes, looking at Torey's orange chest, before looking up at Torey's cherry red face.

"Thanks for the rescue!" She looked at Torey with shining eyes and a cute smile, which heated Torey's face up more. He felt as if his cheeks had touched the surface of the sun.

"I-It was n-nothing." He tried his best to keep his gaze on her beautiful eyes. He finally couldn't take it any more and looked down at his chest. "Ummmm, could you..." He looked back up at Pachi, who looked down at his chest as well.

"Oops! Hehe." She blushed and giggled, hiding her face behind her tail before hopping off his chest. To be honest, Torey didn't want Pachi to get off. He liked her soft fur. And her face. And her stubby little arms. And her tail. And...

"Guys, I could use some help here!" A whole pack of Mightyena had emerged from the bushes and snarled at Brelly. They laid low to the ground, ready to pounce on their prey. Brelly threw a punch at a Mightyena that charged at him, sending it flying several feet back, before getting tackled by another Mightyena. They flew back into the trunk of a tree, before Brelly delivered a Sky Uppercut to the Mightyena that held him down. "There must be at least twenty of them!"

Pachi and Torey ran over to Brelly, glancing at the group of Mightyena that surrounded Brelly in a U. Torey got on Brelly's right side, while Pachi went to his left. They grabbed his arms and quickly pulled him up to his feet.

"Than- Look out!" Brelly's thanks was interrupted by another Mightyena, who tackled Torey. He got knocked back into Pachi. Brelly turned and whipped another charging Mightyena off it's feet with his tail before attempting to fish Pachi from the air with his tail. Pachi took a bulb on his tail before Brelly swung the opposite direction. Pachi reached her short foot out, kicking the Mightyena in the muzzle that had just gotten back up on its feet.

She let go as Brelly reached the apex of his swing, flying through the air with grace. She formed a blue ball on her tail before doing a flip, yelling, "Electro Ball!"

With a flick of her tail, she flung the electric ball at the group of Mightyena. Several sidestepped out of the way, but three unfortunate Mightyena got hit by the crackling ball of electricity. They all got blasted back before slumping on the ground, unconscious from the attack.

Torey, who got knocked into a Mightyena after colliding with Pachi, clumsily got up, looking at the confused Mightyena he fell in front of. He looked awkwardly at the Mightyena, unsure of what he should do next.

"Eheheh, ahem, this is awkward," he said nervously. Then, as if instinct took over, he slapped him straight in the face. Torey grabbed his wrist and looked at his hand in shock.

"I am sooooo in for it now," he said to himself. The Mightyena and the one next to him, who was watching the scene between his friend and the Buizel, snarled at Torey. They both dove at Torey, who ducked in time. The two pokemon landed behind him and turned around as they slid, staying low to the ground and readying another attack. Torey turned around to face them.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Torey thought. "How did Buizel attack?!" He quickly thought about it before an idea came to his mind. He imagined his tail jutting out like Buizel's tail would. He twisted his hips, swung his shoulders, let his tail go loose, and jumped up, twisting around and attempting to engage in a Sonic Boom attack.

His tail pathetically flopped behind him and he didn't jump high enough, only twisting halfway. A tiny wave of white came from his tail, slightly rustling the fur of the Mightyenas. The Mightyenas looked at each other and then burst into a short laughter. They stopped after five seconds and put on the straightest face possible, creeping Torey out.

"Holy Arceus, what the hell was that?" Torey thought to himself. That was creeeeeepy. No one he knew could recover from a laugh that quick.

The Mightyena that got slapped yelled out to him. "Hey kid, that was pathetic. Now, we'll hurt you 'til your numb from the pain for slapping me in the face."

The two Mightyena advanced on Torey, who whimpered in terror and took a step back. "Eheheh, this is all a misunderstanding. I didn't-"

"Shut up! I don't accept apologies," the Mightyena snarled, pouncing on Torey. Torey got knocked back and both his paws were pinned down by the Mightyena's paws.

"Bite!" The Mightyena sunk his fangs into Torey's wound, causing the throbbing bite mark to hurt twice as much. Torey yelled in pain, squirming under the Mightyena's powerful grip.

Brelly and Pachi fought with tag team dominance. They had taken down about seven Mightyena, who all lay on the ground unconscious. They were interrupted from the battle when they heard Torey's cries for help. "Swift!" Pachi yelled, sending out tiny stars towards the pack of Mightyena. They all yelped in surprise when the sharp stars cut through their skin. She crawled up to Brelly and balanced on his arm. "Brelly, now!" she called out.

Brelly shot his arm out, yelling "Mach Punch!" He shot his hand forwards, jetting the small squirrel pokemon towards Torey.

"Sucker Punch!" A Mightyena called out, head butting Brelly in the gut. He grunted in surprise and grabbed his stomach as the Mightyena retreated back to his group of friends. Brelly puckered his lips and shot a barrage of Leech Seed in front of the Mightyena. Vines grew from the ground and reached for the grouped together pokemon, who scattered when two of them got jailed in a vine prison. They began gnawing through the thick vines. He then ran towards Pachi, using Sky Uppercut on two other Mightyena who attempted to take him down. They bounced off of him and hit the ground with a thud.

Pachi landed on the Mightyena that had Torey pinned down. "Get off him, you mangly beast!" she insulted, grabbing into his skin so she wouldn't fall off. The Mightyena still had his jaws clamped around his neck and called out to his friend in a muffled voice.

"Don't just watch her, you idiot! Get her off of me!" His friend ran up to him, before being knocked away by Brelly. He slid a few feet away from his friends, turning his body to face the eleven Mightyena that chased him. He didn't turn around quick enough and was tackled by one of them. He absorbed the shock and threw him over his body with great force, tossing him over the minor battle behind him and into the bushes. A small crack could be heard as he hit the ground. The Mightyena must have broke a leg upon landing.

Brelly looked at the rest of the Mightyena, breathing hard. He didn't know how much he could keep up. He looked up at the sky. Clouds came overhead, signaling the arrival of rain. The other two Mightyena had rejoined the fight after gnawing through the tough vines. He looked back at the Mightyena before giving a mighty yell. "I'll take you all on!" He charged towards the intimidated pack of canines.

"Torey, this might hurt a little bit! Brace yourself!" Torey clenched his teeth and tensed his muscles, awaiting the pain that Pachi had warned him about. Pachi's yellow cheeks crackled with electricity. The Mightyena, who had stopped biting Torey, looked back at Pachi, who smirked at him evilly. She used Nuzzle, rubbing her electricity filled cheeks into the Mightyena's fur.

Torey and the Mightyena yelled in pain as electricity flowed through their bodies. Torey suffered less than the Mightyena, who jumped off of him. He went into a massive seizure as more and more electricity overloaded his nervous system. He continually begged Pachi to stop until she knew he couldn't possibly take any more. She let go of his back, watching him shake vigorously in pain. She looked back at Torey, who flinched every now and then. The electricity had slightly overloaded his nervous system as well, and he couldn't help but shake it out.

"Ever heard of getting the jitters out?" Torey asked sarcastically. Pachi grinned at him and giggled when he flinched again.

"It shouldn't last too long. Come on, Brelly needs our help!" She grabbed Torey's arm and pulled him towards the kangaroo that fought with all his energy, while Torey blushed at the contact.

Brelly fought smart and hard, switching opponents when he saw them attack him from the corner of his eyes. He wasn't actually hitting the Mightyena, he was letting them hurt each other. He blocked attacks when he needed to, but mostly he used fancy footwork and quick reflexes to move out of the way of the hostile beasts. The Mightyena bumped heads, swiped each other's faces, and bit into each other's sides. After several more attempts at attack, they stopped for a brief moment, thinking about how Brelly had been fighting. They all backed up slowly.

Brelly's tail began to light up. The pores on his head began to bulge out and he produced a yellow powder. He spread it on the group that stood in front of him. Many of the Mightyena coughed and sneezed as the dust landed on their fur, in their nose, and in their mouths. Few of them stuck their tongues out in disgust, accidentally tasting the bitter powder that found its way into their mouths. He saw his two friends get up and join the fight. The three of them stood in front of the pack of thirteen Mightyena that they still had to fight. Both groups were tired out and breathing hard, but neither were willing to say that their team was to surrender to the other.

The Mightyena began to engage another attack. Or at least they tried. The excessive amount of Stun Spore had them paralyzed, disabling all movement. They all grunted in frustration as they couldn't move their stiff legs.

"Guys, we need to get out of here," Brelly told the group. Pachi hopped onto his back and the two began to turn around, before noticing Torey's awkward behavior. He stood there, staring into the eyes of the Mightyena, who stared back. Neither moved a muscle, but both were exerting much effort on attempting to move. They were both clenching their teeth as sweat rolled down their face. The Stun Spore that Torey had spilled onto his fur from Brelly's head before the fight began to take effect.

"Ahhh crap!" Brelly exclaimed, grabbing the frozen Torey and placing him on his back. He slumped down, resting his feet on Brelly's lifted tail.

"There's not much time. The rain is going to come pouring down and wash away the spore. We have to take this chance to gain some ground. We can try and lose the Mightyena and then return Torey back to his owner," Brelly explained. Sure his tracking and analytic skills were horrid, but when the chance was there, he would rise to the occasion and assume the leadership role. He always kept his composure under high pressure situations and had the skills to pair with it.

"Ok Torey, we are going to return you to your owner," Brelly explained to Torey, who answered with a slight nod. The small amount of Stun Spore that landed on him as opposed to what the Mightyena got were beginning to wear off, and he was beginning to regain limited movement to his muscles.

They ran for another minute before the wet sensation of a slight drizzle sprinkled them. They had made up some ground, but Brelly was afraid it was not enough. The faint sounds of several barks were heard behind the trees, and they finally reached Route 9. They saw nothing but mud. Had Torey's mom got up and returned home?

"Damnit!" Brelly yelled in frustration, "We're too late!" He grabbed the top of his head with both paws and sighed. They would have to improvise, and fast. The faint barks were getting louder and they were going to be here any second now.

"Pachi, Torey, go jump in the bush!" She hopped his shoulder and jumped into a bush just before Route 9, being followed by Torey. They landed on the other side of the bush, awaiting the arrival of Brelly. Brelly caught a glimpse of two black and gray figures walking towards them before jumping in with the other two.

"Ok, we have to stay absolutely quiet. They've split up into groups and they're looking for us," he whispered. "They don't look too happy either." He poked his head out from the bush, seeing two Mightyena emerge from the corner. The rain had now come down fiercely, pitter pattering on the muddy ground.

"We need to find them before they get away. They can't have gone off too far. I mean, look at these tracks! They're still fresh!" The two Mightyena continued walking through the path they ran down until stopping right before the bush that the runaways hid in.

"It seems the trail ends here..." the second Mightyena said, before getting smacked in the back of the head by the first Mightyena. "Ya think, dumbass? We should head back to the group-" His eyes fell on the end of the trail. The paw prints hadn't ended yet after all. They had veered left into the bushes. He looked at the bushes just as Brelly darted his head back in.

"They know we're here," Brelly told Pachi and Torey. Torey had a look of dismay and began groaning quietly. Pachi's eyes, on the other hand, darted around their hiding spot, quickly finding the solution to their problem.

"Guys, look! The tree!" she whispered quickly, before scurrying up the tree. She was followed by Torey, who was given a boost by Brelly. Brelly stayed down under the branch and locked gazes with Pachi, who nodded to him.

"W-w-wait, how about Brelly?! We can't just leave him behind!" Torey exclaimed, before being shut up by Pachi's small paw.

"Shhhhh, Brelly can handle himself," she assured to Torey, before a Mightyena appeared from the bushes.

"Mach Punch!" The Mightyena was flung from the bushes as soon as he entered and flew back, knocking into his friend.

"Come on, let's go!" Brelly yelled. Pachi and Torey jumped off the branch they were on and landed on his back. They darted past the two knocked down Mightyena, who immediately gave chase. Brelly turned onto Route 2 and went as fast as his legs would allow. The Mightyena who gave chase looked at each other before splitting up.

"They've split up!" Torey yelled. Brelly noted this and kept on running. A few strides later, a whole pack of Mightyena burst through the shrubbery on their right, giving Brelly not much reaction time. Brelly stumbled on himself after sidestepping to the left around the pack, putting his paw on the ground before getting back to speed. His legs were beginning to tire out, especially after all they've been through. The pack of Mightyena slowly gained on them as Brelly looked over his shoulder, spitting out several Leech Seeds at their pursuers. They planted themselves onto the ground and made a small barricade, which was avoided by the Mightyena.

With a desperate cry, Pachi yelled, "Discharge!" Light blue sparks crackled at Pachi's cheeks before multiple beams of electricity were fired all in different directions. Three Mightyena were affected by the blast and fell behind, slumping onto the ground after coming to a complete stop. Out of exhaustion, she slumped off of Brelly's shoulder and fell behind him. Torey caught her in his arms and let her rest on his chest. She looked at Torey with droopy eyelids before saying a faint thank you. She nuzzled her head into his chest, exhausted from all the fighting.

Torey blushed at the sudden show of affection. His heart began pumping blood at a faster rate and his stomach acted as if it had joined a circus act. He caressed Pachi's head gently, letting her get comfortable in her position.

Brelly's thighs burned as he ran, and he looked over his shoulder frequently. If they were going to escape, he would have to stay at the same pace for a while. He knew that was near impossible, especially after the fight that he went through and because he was carrying two pokemon on his back. His legs were on the brink of collapsing and began to slow down, knowing that he wouldn't have to run any longer.

Torey anxiously watched the pack of wolves slowly gain on them. He embraced Pachi a little bit tighter, causing a slight blush from the both of them. Suddenly, they were both launched from Brelly's back and soared over him, watching the mushroom kangaroo collapse onto the ground. Torey braced himself and hit the ground with a thud, breaking Pachi's fall and splashing in a small puddle of rain. Pachi rolled off of Torey and lay on her back, looking straight up at the sky. The rain hit her face and she blinked away the tear drops that made its way into her eyes. Torey helped her sit up, and the both of them looked over at Brelly, who lay on the ground.

The pack of Mightyena surrounded the group in a U, blocking off all but one path of escape. Brelly looked up from the ground and at Torey and Pachi, before sitting up, supporting his weight with trembling arms. He slowly got on to his feet and slightly swayed to the left before regaining his balance. Torey and Pachi's eyes widened when they saw Brelly get into a fighting stance.

"Torey, keep my sister safe. Take Pachi and run," he said, still keeping his gaze on the pack of wolves that stood before him. This was a fight he knew he was going to lose, but as long as he kept his loved ones safe, it didn't matter to him.

Torey looked at Brelly with shock and disbelief. Suddenly, a pang of guilt washed over him. He couldn't just leave him here to fight these guys alone. Pachi put a small paw over her mouth, and her eyes welled up in tears.

"Brelly, I-I can't just-" he was interrupted by Brelly's affirmative voice. "Go! I can handle myself!"

A tear rolled down Pachi's cheek as she was picked up by Torey. With a reluctant voice, Torey tried his best to assure her that he would be okay.

"Come on, let's go. We have to go." Torey pulled Pachi away from Brelly, before two Mightyena jumped in front of them, stopping them in their tracks.

"Hehehe, remember me?" the Mightyena on the right sneered, twitching every ten seconds. This was the Mightyena that got shocked by Pachi's Nuzzle attack. Torey and Pachi looked at him with wide eyes.

"Yeah, tell 'em, Shadow!" the second Mightyena encouraged, clearly entertained by the first Mightyena, or Shadow's, show.

"Now, you want me to kill you quickly? Ya know, so you feel no pain?" Torey swallowed a golf ball in his throat. He didn't want to die. And especially not like this.

"What do you think, Shade? Which entertains you more?" He asked the second Mightyena, who was regarded as Shade.

"I think," he said, advancing towards them, "that you should milk the life out of them. We should make a little game, yeah?. Let these two lovebirds burn over a fire and watch them scream in agony as their flesh is burnt to a crisp, and have them watch each other suffer from their pain." The two looked at each other, before laughing maniacally. Torey and Pachi slightly blushed at the term 'lovebirds,' but were terrified at the idea of their execution.

"W-we aren't l-love-" Pachi complained, before being shut up by Shadow.

"Shut up stupid squirrel!" Shadow said, before turning back to Shade. "You are a genius, Shade," Shadow complimented, before faking an attack towards Torey and Pachi. Torey and Pachi flinched, stumbling backwards and tripping on their feet. They regained their balance, before finding the two wolves howling in extreme laughter. They continued to advance on Torey and Pachi, until they ran into Brelly, who was also taking small steps backwards. Their backs came in contact with each other and they created a triangle, facing a pack of thirteen Mightyena that had them fully surrounded.

"B-Brelly, I'm scared," she forced out of her mouth, reaching her paw out to grab Brelly's. She found it and held it tight, slightly assured by his presence. He squeezed back, comforted by Pachi's presence as well.

"Hey guys," he said with a sad tone, "looks like this is it." He then looked at Torey with sad eyes, "Hey, it was nice meeting you. See you on the other side."

Torey shivered at his comment. They weren't actually going to die here, were they?

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><p><strong>Hey guys, here's the third chapter. This is the first author's note thingymajigger. This chapter is slightly longer than the other ones, just because it was a battle scene and those can't be rushed. Lately, I've been having lots of homework, projects, and personal stuff to take care of. As a procrastinator (this only applies for school), I've been skipping some assignments and doing them in the middle of the night just so I can get some decent work done on the story after completing all the big stuff for school. So far, I've been having a blast writing this story, but I don't have a lot of time to come up with new ideas for the story. I do have some ideas for the next chapter and the one after that, so do not fear. This is my first fic, and I do hope you are enjoying the story so far. I won't be posting super frequently like I did with the first three chapters, for that was written on a vacation. I will be writing though, so keep an eye out for the next chapter. I am planning to release a chapter or two a week, and if I'm lucky I might squeeze in a third. Other than that, thanks for reading. Reviews and constructive criticism is appreciated, for I am always looking to make myself a better writer. Flaming and hate is not appreciated, though, so keep those dirty insults to yourself! :D<strong>


	5. What Friends Are For

**Hey guys! Sorry if I kept you waiting, but lately I've been REALLY burdened with schoolwork (I know, right? It seems like everyone is). I do not know if I can meet my goals that I have set in the previous chapter, but what I do know is that I will be writing regularly. I can't really be posting once or twice a week, but I will try my best to get some good chapters out there. Well, here is the fifth chapter of my story, I hope you enjoy it! Reviews are encouraged and appreciated, but flaming is not, so like I said before, keep those dirty insults to yourselves!**

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><p>Torey whimpered softly; he was still too young to die. He still had roughly eighty-ish years to live and he didn't want it to end like this. Well, at least he would die with his newly made friends, right?<p>

The pack circled the trio of losers, silently cackling to themselves. They had been victorious, but at the expense of almost half their pack. It didn't matter, at least they still won. They could take care of each other later.

A Mightyena slowly walked up to Brelly and stopped just short of him, so that he made his presence clear and so that Brelly couldn't straight up punch him in the face. This Mightyena seemed to be the leader of the pack, being slightly taller and better built than the others in the group.

"So, how is this going to go, my good sir? Peacefully or painfully?" the Mightyena asked. Brelly said nothing, still keeping steady eye contact. The Mightyena suddenly opened his mouth in shock, looking sorry and apologetic, and raised a paw to his mouth.

"Excuse me for being so rude! I haven't introduced myself yet," the leader said. "The name's Ambush," He smiled, putting a paw up to his chest proudly. "Now would you kindly please answer my question?" He got no response from Brelly, before walking around Brelly and towards Pachi.

"You know, when I was still a young Poochyena, my father told me," the Mightyena said in a calm voice, stopping just before Pachi, "that physically, pain does not hurt as much..." He put out a paw and softly stroked underneath her chin. Pachi whimpered in fear and her legs were on the brink of collapse. She trembled like a city during an earthquake and shut her eyes, awaiting what was coming for her. Brelly clenched his fists. How dare they tease him like this! Torey looked at Brelly, who was seething in anger, and grabbed his shoulder, not wanting to start another fight. They were far too exhausted to perform any kind of action that required a considerable amount of energy.

Ambush chuckled softly, noticing Brelly's anger and walking away from Pachi, who breathed a sigh of relief. "Physically, pain does not hit you as hard. But," he walked over to Torey and looked at him with an evil smirk, before lifting a paw and striking him in the stomach. Torey grunted in surprise and clutched his gut. The wind was knocked out of him and his breathing shortened, causing a small laugh within the crowd of canines. Pachi gasped, putting both paws over her mouth.

"Pain... pain is another wild animal when it comes to the person you care about," Ambush said, hitting Torey on the side of the leg. Torey fell to one knee, before receiving a scratch to the face. His face began to sting with a burning pain, and he saw small drops of blood wash away from his cheek onto the wet ground.

"He hasn't done anything! Stop hurting him!" Brelly yelled angrily, charging towards Ambush. Several Mightyena noticed his engagement and jumped in front of him, stopping Brelly in his tracks. He backed up into his original spot, growling at the Mightyena that had interrupted him. Pachi's eyes watered as she whimpered in fear; not because she feared she would get the same treatment, but because of Torey's sake. A small tear ran down her cheek, which was joined by the rain that trickled down her face.

"You see, when you get hurt, you feel pain for a few minutes," Ambush walked away from Torey and began to circle the group again. "But when someone you love suffers," he stopped again at Pachi, looking into her eyes and grinned evilly. "You feel their pain as well. You feel their pain as they are beat over and over and over again until you see their body go limp. The pain slowly grows, and when you see the fire in their helpless eyes slowly go out, looking back at you, hoping that you might do something to save them, you scream in horror, knowing that all you can do is watch them. Watch them suffer."

He said the last part softly, sending shivers down Torey's Pachi's, and Brelly's spines. Even Brelly trembled in fear after he had said that. He could take abuse; after all he was a fighter. But the mere thought of seeing anyone he knew disappear was too much for him to handle.

Pachi seemed to be the most affected by the Ambush's small lecture and broke into tears, covering her eyes with her tiny paws in order to try to keep them from spilling out. It was useless. Ambush then backed away with a satisfied smile and turned around, looking at the pack.

"So who dies first?" he yelled, pumping up the crowd. Brelly, Pachi, and Torey all held paws, hoping that none of them would be chosen and a miracle would happen. Several yells could be heard, all being a mix of "The Breloom!", "The Pachirisu!", and "The Buizel!" It wasn't until another minute before the crowd finalized an answer. The voices could be pieced together, saying, "The Pachirisu! Kill the girl!"

Brelly and Buizel looked with wide eyes at Pachi, who looked at the crowd with even wider eyes. Her mouth was wide open and her heart skipped twenty beats. Her arms went slack, even though she tried her best to squeeze Torey and Brelly's paws with all her might. Her legs buckled under her and she lost her voice momentarily. She was to die first. There were no more tears that her eyes could produce, and rain poured down her face, giving her artificial tears. That was the best nature could do for her, at least.

Ambush smirked as he turned around, walking up to Pachi. Out of the crowd jumped Shadow and Shade, and they walked behind Ambush, one Mightyena on each side.

"No! You can't do this!" Torey and Brelly yelled, tightening their grip with Pachi's small paws. They tried to pull her back towards them, but were too slow for Ambush and his henchmen. They snatched Pachi away and separated her from the group, standing in front of Torey and Brelly so that they could see her easily.

"I'm going to kill you for this!" Brelly yelled, before being tackled by Shadow and Shade. They stopped Brelly and Torey and kept Ambush and Pachi at a safe distance.

Ambush then turned Pachi around so she faced her two friends. He held her in a hostage position, putting a claw over her throat.

"Now, it is such a shame to deprive life from such a pretty face," he chuckled softly in Pachi's ear. "Well, you know how it is as a leader. You have to give the crowd what they want." He slowly moved his claw closer to Pachi's throat, receiving louder cheers as he finally made contact with Pachi's neck.

"Wait!" Brelly exclaimed, surprising the Mightyena. "Don't do this to her. Take me instead," Brelly said, offering his life to the executioner. Ambush hung his paw low, away from Pachi's throat, and scoffed at Brelly. He then turned to the crowd, still holding Pachi tightly.

"Now examine Exhibit A," he said to the crowd, who gave a small laugh. Ambush continued, "the person you see here cares much for the victim I have and because of this, offers everything he has so that she may be let free," he then turned back towards Brelly, "but, the crowd gets what they want! And they want the victim to die first!" he yelled, sending a roar of cheers in the crowd. He lifted his paw again towards Pachi's neck. Pachi closed her eyes tight, awaiting her death.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you!" Brelly exclaimed. His chest pounded as he said his next words, hopeful that they might take the unconvincing bait and release his dear sister. He looked at Torey, who looked back at him, and then back at Ambush. "We have more than enough food for all of us combined. We can give you this food if you release her. If you kill her now, then you are giving up a huge supply of Oran and Sitrus Berries. Enough for your whole pack to survive for more than ten winters!" Ambush again hung his paw low and scoffed at Brelly.

"Now, Exhibit B!" he again said to the crowd. A smaller laugh than the last was emitted, for some of them had gotten impatient and wanted to see blood. "The person you see here attempts to bribe the killer so that he can save the one he loves," his face then scrunched up, and he pinched his nose.

"Eugh, do you guys smell that? I smell bullshit!" The crowd roared in laughter, impressed by the joke. Ambush then raised his paw up again towards Pachi's throat, before...

"Wait!" Torey piped up. His chest pounded as well and he didn't know if this would work or not. He looked at Ambush before clearing his throat.

"Ahem, eheh, w-what did the Miltank say t-to the other Miltank?" Ambush looked at Torey and sighed. If it was what he thought it was...

"The Miltank said 'MOOOOOOOOOOOVE!'" Torey burst out in fake laughter, just as he did when he told the Seedot joke to the very first Mightyena he met, and nudged Brelly in the arm. It took him a few moments until Brelly joined in in a very nervous and unenthusiastic laugh.

Ambush face pawed himself and let the two settle down. He was almost tempted to laugh at the stupidity of the joke, but kept a blank expression on his face.

"What are you even doing?" Ambush asked after knowing that the laughter would not stop any time soon. The rain had finally died down and the clouds began to break away, revealing a sliver of sunlight and illuminating the clouds, giving a small silver lining.

"Enough!" Ambush yelled, putting a claw against Pachi's throat. Torey and Brelly immediately stopped laughing and looked at Ambush, with sweat rolling down the side of their faces. "Now, where was I? Right! On with the execu-" Ambush was stopped short by Torey, who gave a final desperation attempt at delaying the death of Pachi and shortly after, Brelly and him.

"Hold on!" Torey blurted out, milking a loud groan of annoyance from Ambush. He was getting quite impatient as well and he was trying to make this as fun as it usually was. With these fools holding up the ceremony, he didn't know if he could make them feel intimidated without drawing blood.

"What the hell is it this time?" Ambush asked in an annoyed tone, rolling his eyes in the same manner.

"W-we have back up close by. Y-you guys better run while you s-still can," answered Torey, who was sure that this would not work and Pachi would be horribly murdered soon after.

"Pfft, backup. 'Y-you guys better run while you s-still can!' You sound pathetic. That was going to be Exhibit C but your voice was just not cut for it," Ambush jeered, amused at the way Torey tried to threaten him.

Ambush sighed at Torey and Brelly before shaking his head.

"Anything else you want before this pretty girl dies?" he asked. Torey and Brelly slowly shook their heads, looking down at their feet. Torey hid his face in his collar while Brelly fell to his knees and covered his face. They had been defeated, and now all they could do was watch. Watch her suffer.

"I want you to step away from the squirrel!" A loud and affirmative voice rang out throughout the forest. The pack of Mightyena looked around, confused as to what else could possible interrupt their ceremony. There was a rustling in the treetops, in the bushes around them, and multiple footsteps could be heard. Leaves fell from the tree line and several twigs snapped. The sounds got louder and louder, forcing Torey, Brelly, and Pachi to look for the source of the voice.

"Or what?" Ambush asked, frustrated that he was always getting interrupted. It seemed that Torey had been right about backup, although Torey did not know that there would be backup and was merely bluffing.

'Or else you are going to regret ever laying your paws on her," another voice rang out, this time sounding more feminine. Ambush looked around, scanning the treetops and bushes with squinted eyes. Finally, he ignored their very known presence and lifted his paw up. He slowly creeper it up her belly, then her chest, and finally stopping at Pachi's neck.

"Ok, you asked for it!" the voice said, and out of the treetops burst three silhouettes, their identities concealed by the shadows that were cast due to the sunlight shining on their backs. They shimmered in the air and gracefully hung in the pale blue sky, before diving towards the group at a blinding speed.

"Go get 'em, Donny!" Another voice rang out after the loud screech was emitted from the birds.

Ambush's attention was redirected when out of the bushes to their left came an armored elephant with considerably long tusks, a blue and yellow wolf with spiky fur, and a large tortoise with a tree and mountains on it's back emerged from the vegetation. The elephant broke into a sprint before diving and curling up into a ball, engaging the pack with a Rollout attack.

The three birds who had dived towards Ambush finally met their target and struck him with an Aerial Ace simultaneously. Ambush got knocked back after getting critically hit, and released Pachi from his grasp. Pachi broke into a sprint, jumping over a Mightyena that had been affected by the Rollout attack from the elephant, before finally reaching Brelly. She crawled up to his shoulder and sent a barrage of stars towards another Mightyena that had chased her down, hitting her target with a Swift attack. This attack was not enough to harm the Mightyena too much, but Brelly's Sky Uppercut more than enough to finish the job, sending him flying back. It seemed that with all the delays that they got attempting to stall Ambush had given them a little bit of time to recover, and they were able to fend off against the pack, especially with backup.

Brelly ducked under another Mightyena before grabbing Torey by the collar and running towards the oversized tortoise with the tree on it's back. They finally reached him after the tortoise had flung another Mightyena right over their heads.

"Well, if it isn't Twigs the Torterra to the rescue!" Brelly exclaimed, relieved that they had gotten back up from such a tough pokemon.

"Damn right! Hop on, I'm 'bout to give these guys a whooping!" Brelly, Pachi, and Torey got onto the Torterra's back. "Sparky! I'm 'bout to pull a Quake! Pull out so I don't kill you!" The wolf, who was biting into a Mightyena with a Thunder Fang, released him, before his body was surrounded with yellow sparks. He used Spark on the Mightyena, before retreating back towards the bushes, knowing that a well aimed Ground type move could easily take him down. He stopped short of the shrubbery, calling out to Twigs, "Hit 'em with your best!"

Twigs reared back onto his hind legs, causing Brelly, Pachi and Torey to hang onto the tree on Twigs' back for dear life. Twigs then dropped his legs, pounding the ground and sending a powerful Earthquake attack through the dirt. Donny kept on rolling, clearly unaffected because he was the same type as the attack. The birds were also unaffected, for they were busy picking off the Mightyena by diving onto them with an Aerial Ace. Sparky was a safe distance away from the attack and rejoined the fight afterwards, knowing that the he was good to re enter the battle. There were still a considerable amount of them left, though they had been weakened quite a bit by Twigs' supporting attack.

Torey looked up at his saviors, all of which he now saw very clearly. He was amazed at the way they worked together and how they were protecting them. Twigs then turned around, before being tackled by a Mightyena. Twigs brushed him off, knocking him away before being hit by the elephant's rolling attack.

Donny continued rolling around, pressuring the pack and forcing them to move out of the way. He was setting up for Sparky, who forced the Mightyena who got out of the way to run into Sparky's Spark attack. His body electrified as the Mightyena fell perfectly in his way, before Sparky ran at him with blinding speed, striking the Mightyena out of the way.

The birds gave support to Donny and Sparky, taking out the Mightyena that were in Donny's and Sparky's blind spots. They covered them with Aerial Ace, and threw in a small Wing Attack every now and then. Donny rolled past Twigs, who was roaring at the Mightyena that tried to attack him. He was pumped with all the adrenaline inside of him, and performed a massive Leaf Storm attack, lighting his tree up and sending out sharp leaves that controlled the crowd and caused them to gather into a packed group. Donny spun around them, almost causing a small dust devil and keeping them together. By this time, the pack was very worn out and were quickly losing an uphill battle. Sparky sent out a Thunder Wave attack, paralyzing the worn out enemies. They all slumped on the ground as they became limp, but conscious, as they couldn't move any of their muscles. Donny then retreated back and stood next to Sparky, who looked at each other and smirked. The birds, who had stopped their vicious supporting attacks, landed on Donny and Sparky. They all smirked at each other, before turning to Twigs. They all nodded at him, and Twigs looked at the limp and helpless pokemon that stood before him.

"You're gonna wish you let her go sooner," Twigs said quietly. He raised his two front feet again, forcing the passengers to hold on to his tree again so they wouldn't fall off. His body glowed green, and with one last mighty roar, Twigs slammed his two feet as hard as he could. Small cracks traveled through the ground before the reached the helpless pack. Spiked vines came out of the crevices in the ground, whipping and thrashing against the ground and anything that stood in their way... Which turned out to be the Mightyena. Torey, Brelly, and Pachi looked in awe at the massive attack that Twigs had just given, and cringed as several wolves were picked up off the ground and thrown several feet. Finally the thrashing stopped, and the vines retreated back into the ground. With a satisfied grunt, Twigs turned around.

"Alright, I'm heading back to camp, we gotta treat these guys for injuries. Finish the rest up and follow me back," Twigs commanded, walking away and carrying the tired and filthy pokemon.

Torey looked back towards the battlefield, seeing all the Mightyena had been left unconscious and defeated. The only one left seemed to be Ambush, who had been quickly taken out of the short battle after he was hit with three consecutive Aerial Aces. He was left conscious, but weak enough so that he couldn't actually do any harm to anyone. Donny, Sparky, and the trio of birds surrounded Ambush, who looked intimidated. He turned around and half ran half limped away from the battlefield after Sparky said something to Ambush that was inaudible to Torey from this distance.

"So, what trouble have you guys gotten into this time?" Twigs asked Brelly and Pachi. He looked back at the duo of troublemakers after he didn't receive an immediate answer.

Finally, Brelly piped up. "Weeelll, you see, we were playing tag-" he was stopped short by Twigs.

"Skip to where you went wrong," he looked at Brelly seriously, who nervously laughed and tugged at the collar on his neck.

"We- We were planning to go to the city-" he paused, seeing Twigs shake his head in disapproval, before continuing awkwardly. "But we didn't. We got lost, and then found Route 2. Then we saw this weird lady who was bawling her eyes out because she lost a pokemon..." he drifted off awkwardly after he saw Torey glare at him. Brelly laughed nervously as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Well, we found out that the woman had lost a Buizel, and thus we found Torey," Pachi squeaked, finishing what Brelly had started. Twigs shook his head again, still not understanding how they had managed to attract so many Mightyena towards them.

"So why were there so many Mightyena?" Twigs asked, curious as to what Brelly and Pachi had done this time.

"Torey got kidnapped by a Mightyena, so we followed his trail. We totally wrecked the first Mightyena, and he hightailed it out of there. Then he came back with his whole pack," Pachi explained. This was probably their most reckless stunt to date.

By this time, Donny, Sparky, and the trio of birds had finally caught up to them. Twigs acknowledged them before turning to Brelly and Pachi.

"We'll talk about this... later," he said quietly, causing Brelly and Pachi to shudder in fright. He then changed the topic and turned to Torey with a big smile.

"Well, it would be just rude to totally ignore our new guest!" There was a small murmur within the team of pokemon before they looked at Torey with polite smiles.

The elephant, who had now been identified as a Donphan, began to introduce himself and the team to Torey, reaching out his trunk to shake Torey's paw. Torey took it, nodding to Donny. "The name's Donny. Lots of people like to call me 'Roller.' Call me either name, I don't mind," Donny said, turning towards Sparky, who was a Manectric. "This guy is Sparky. He can be... really intimidating when you get on his bad side..." he shuddered at the small remark that Sparky had made to Ambush before they saw him run off. Sparky smirked at Donny, before nodding to Torey. "But, as long as you don't make that mistake, you should be cool with him," he said, before turning towards the trio of birds, which were a Staraptor, a Swellow, and a Tranquill. "These guys are Star, Arrow, and Grace. Folks at camp like to call these dudes and dudette the 'Aerial Aces.' Quite fitting for Aerial Ace is their favorite move," he looked at the birds, who smiled at Torey and gave a friendly wave with their wings. He then moved in closer to Torey, pointing to both Star and Grace with his trunk. He whispered to Torey, "Those two are goin' out with each other, which I think is cute," he then pointed towards the Swellow, "and then Arrow is Star's brother," Donny finished elaborating on the profiles of the 'Aerial Aces.'

"And then we have our own walking tank here, the brute, the brick wall, whatever you wanna call him. I'm sure you've heard his name once, but in case you missed it, his name is Twigs, which is quite ironic," he smirked at Twigs, who rolled his eyes. "And last, but not least, we got the inseparable duo of trouble, Brelly and Pachi. I'm sure you guys have gotten acquainted with each other," Donny finished off the team that was out of camp.

"Yeah, more than acquainted..." Torey thought, blushing at the thought of how he had first met Pachi. He wasn't too obvious, was he? Pfft, of course he was, what an idiot he probably seemed to her.

"What was that? I didn't quite catch what you were saying," Donny said, looking at Torey with a confused face.

"Wha- Nothing, I didn't say anything!" Torey said, covering his mouth with his paws. Donny, more left out than satisfied with his answer, did the equivalent of shrugging. The group continued walking in silence. A few moments later, Sparky started up a new conversation and turned to Torey.

"So, Torey, tell us about yourself! Anything special about you?" Sparky asked, curious about the newcomer's personality.

"Weeellll," Torey began, piecing together interesting things about himself on the go. "I'm 16. I like to eat fish... Swimming is, well, fun," Donny butted in. "It doesn't sound like it's fun," he snickered to himself while everyone else looked at him like he was an idiot. "Ok, I'll be quiet."

"Uhhhh, I like to have fun, I guess. Anything that bores me, I am not very fond of," Torey pondered about what else was interesting to him. He was about to bring up the trainer side of his personality, but stopped himself when he realized that he was still a pokemon.

"How about fighting? You into battles?" Manectric asked. To be honest, Torey couldn't fight as a pokemon. As a trainer, sure. Throwing punches were pretty easy to do. But to muster up the energy to summon element based attacks? What the hell, he would have better success if he went skydiving without a parachute, with both hands tied behind his back, and blindfolded.

"Uhhhh, to be honest, I... don't know... how to fight..." Torey felt ashamed when he said this, hanging his head low. His saviors were top notch fighters and all he could was slap his enemy and then get the crap beat out of him afterwards.

"Hey, don't be so down," Pachi said, walking across Twigs' back to pat Torey's back. Torey's fur stood on end as he felt her touch, and he felt his face go both hot and red. He relaxed shortly after as her soft fur glided across his.

"Yeah, don't worry about it, I could teach you how to defend yourself. We also have a Dewott back at camp and he could help you with fighting as well. He knows a lot of water type moves and he could teach you a thing or two about battle," Brelly added in, looking at Torey with reassuring eyes.

"Thanks guys," Torey said, giving a small smile back at the two, before turning towards the whole group. "Thanks for everything today. Especially the rescue."

"Hey, that's what friends are for!" Brelly said. The team nodded and all agreed in unison. Twigs then looked over at Torey with a serious face.

"Glad to have you as a family, Torey," Twigs said, before smiling with Torey, who had smiled at the remark 'family.'

"I guess I am too," Torey quietly agreed, smiling to himself. He retreated back to Twigs' tree after everyone looked away and thought about his new acceptance to this group of wild pokemon. The word 'family' rang continually rang in his mind, and he then went into deep thought. What about his original family? It was way past noon and he still wasn't back home yet, let alone back into his original form. How would his mom react to this?

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><p><strong>Sorry if it seemed like a lame cliffhanger. To be honest, I didn't know how I was going to end the chapter. But I am writing the next chapter as you are reading this. I have roughly 1,200 words on that chapter, so be prepared for that. I can't make any promises though, so the next chapter could come out anywhere from this weekend to the weekend after (Sorry again, schoolwork can be a bitch.). So enjoy the rest of your internet experience! (Seems cheesy, I know. Shut up!)<strong>


	6. I Spy

The team walked and glided through the forest. There was a conversation going on about the 'Aerial Aces,' and how they were wondering if they should let a Fletching into the group.

"Think about it! Little Fletch would be so excited if we let him onto the team!" Grace exclaimed to Star. "We just have to train him a little! He's a perfect fit!" Her eyes twinkled as she thought about the young bird. "And he's so adorable! Oh, I just want to hug him-"

"Okay, Grace, I think that's enough," Star said, interrupting her dreamy description of the youngster. "Besides, I honestly think he is still too young. Training would be a great idea, don't get me wrong, but until he evolves into a Fletchinder, I think that he should stay within camp limits," he explained to Grace. The twinkle in her eyes dimmed, and she looked at the ground in a disappointed manner. "Hm, I guess you're right..."

"Grace, my brother is right. I'm not too sure if his older sister would be okay with it, anyways. And once he evolves into a Fletchinder, he will be able to get a new typing, which is great! He'll be annihilating Grass and Bug type pokemon. And by then, Flare might be on good terms with this idea," Arrow said, reaching out and patting her in the back. Star looked at Grace and began to feel bad. He had to make it up somehow. Well, Fletch was going to join the team, regardless. It was just a matter of age that kept Star and Flare, Fletch's sister, from letting him in. He was still too young, and they were too worried about his safety to let him join. Perhaps he could join the team, as long as they steered away from anything that hinted trouble.

Changing his mind, he looked at Grace, saying, "Grace, maybe he COULD join... Actually, no. He IS joining. You can tell him the news that he will be joining the team starting tomorrow," he assured her, causing Grace's face to light up into a big smile. "We could show him around on our adventures, teach him about what happens outside of camp limits, and all the fun stuff we usually do. Of course, we are staying away from large battles if he were to join-"

"But how about Flare? Do you think-" Star stopped Grace in her tracks.

"I'll talk to her. If I can't convince her, I'll get Arrow to do it. You know how it is with Arrow and Flare," he assured, smirking at Arrow before turning back to her.

"Where was I- right, as long as we avoid the big battles, we can take him along for the ride of his life," Star finished, looking at Grace's face. She looked like her face was about to burst in excitement, and she was shaking in ecstasy. She suddenly shouted with a twinkle in her eye, "That would be so perfect! Fletch would be so excited and- Oh, Star, you're the best!" She then tackled Star, sending both off them out of the air and into Twigs' tree, disappearing into the leaves.

The team, who was watching the whole conversation, looked at each other, before either rolling their eyes, smiling, cooing over the two, or trying their best to suppress a laugh. The leaves shook and fell off the tree as the team could hear the ruffling of feathers, accompanied by the constant giggling and rustling of tree branches. Torey, who was sitting by the trunk of the tree, got up and moved away from the tree, plopping down and leaning on Twigs' miniature mountains.

After a few moments, Twigs realized what the two lovebirds were doing and barked at his back. "Hey! My back is not a birdhouse!" His loud voice caused the giggling in the tree to cease. Grace and Star popped their heads out of the tree. Star was blushing badly, giving a cheeky smile while Grace was covering her beak with her wings, trying her best to stifle her giggle and shaking intensely.

"No making out in my tree. Got it?" Grace and Star nodded, before Grace planted a kiss on Star's cheek and took off, giggling as she watched Star lose his footing on the tree branch and almost fall out. Star followed her after he recovered and he shortly caught up to her, rising above the group and reaching Arrow's altitude. Grace dug her head into Star's neck, and the two cuddled with each other, completely ignoring Arrow. In his awkward situation, Arrow rolled his eyes at the two and descended to join the others.

"Oh my Arceus! That was sooo cute! They're so perfect together!" Pachi squealed, jumping up and down in joy.

Donny and Brelly looked at each other, before breaking into a smile. They couldn't help it, she had a pretty infectious attitude and they shook their heads, smiling to themselves. Sparky looked at her with a smile slightly smaller than Donny and Brelly's, before asking, "You can't get over anything like that, can you?"

Still keeping her wide grin, Pachi replied, "I can't help myself! They're so cute together!" Sparky chuckled to himself. "Of course you can't."

Torey sighed. It was quite a cute sight. He thought about how Star and Grace had managed to create a bond so strong. One could assume that when they were not battling someone, they would be doing anything together. Torey thought about a relationship like that, and wondered if he could find that person to share those experiences with. The two of them would eat piles of berries together, play around in the grass, or relax underneath the stars as they made out unique shapes from the twinkling dots on the black canvas of the sky. His eyes then fell on Pachi, who sat in the front with Brelly, close to Twigs' neck. She was now playing I Spy with Brelly, and was picking her object for Brelly to find. He became unaware of his surroundings as he became deaf to the environment around him. He admired Pachi's beauty, and his eyes became locked in place.

* * *

><p>Torey and Pachi were sitting by the lake, laughing about something that he had told her. They were both telling each other secrets, and now it was Pachi's turn to tell Torey something he didn't know about. With a nervous smile, she looked down at her lap, then faced Torey with a small blush adorning her cheeks. She heaved a sigh and scooted closer to Torey. Torey scooted towards her as well, and they stopped when Torey's paw accidentally fell on top of Pachi's paw. They both blushed at the contact, before Pachi looked at Torey in the eyes. She moved her lips closer to his ear, breathing heavily. Torey felt her breath on his ear, and he matched her breathing, feeling his heart pound against his ribcage. Once Pachi would tell him her secret, it would probably be a huge relief to her. She took in a breath, before telling Torey her secret.<p>

"I think you kinda like her," she whispered softly. What? Who was the 'her' she was referring to? Torey assumed she meant herself, feeling dumbfounded about this confusing information.

"Wha- Of course I like you!" Torey exclaimed excitedly, feeling hopeful that maybe Pachi was finally returning his feelings.

"No, I mean, I think you like her," Pachi repeated. Torey looked at her, confused. Her voice had changed, going from a soft, angelic voice to a slightly deeper, more masculine voice. He looked at her beautiful eyes, before agreeing with her. "Yes, I do like her," he said soothingly. With a small smile, he reached out with a paw and caressed her left cheek, still keeping his gaze. He leaned in closer and slowly closed his eyes. Hopefully, just hopefully, she would follow as well...

Pachi did not take any action, but instead repeated her comment again, insisting that Torey had liked 'her,' whoever she was. She looked at him with concerned eyes, before asking him, "Are you okay?" in a deep voice. He opened his eyes, and the squirrel that sat next to him turned into a Swellow that had a freaked out expression.

"Ah, what the hell?!" Torey exclaimed, surprised at the sudden change in character. He jumped back and looked at Arrow, who had stood next to him for a minute, letting Torey almost make out with him. Arrow had landed on the tree branch and was about to join the I Spy game that Brelly and Pachi were in, until he noticed that the weasel had been staring at the Pachirisu, most likely fantasizing about her. He had hopped off the branch to tell Torey that he might be falling for her, before Torey turned to him and caressed his cheek.

"Arceus! I should be the one that's scared. Hey, you good?" Arrow noticed Torey had slumped back against the base of the tree. His face had crumpled up and he looked down at his toes. He probably felt crushed that it was only a daydream, but hey, it could have been worse. Everyone could have been watching and if they were, they would be as shocked as Arrow was.

Arrow looked at Torey for a brief moment, before waddling over to the crushed pokemon. He plopped down next to him and got comfortable. He then reworded his question.

"Something bothering you?" He heaved a sigh after receiving a silent answer and looked at Torey. "You wanna talk about it? Don't worry, most of us here have gone through this stage. Hell, I think I'm going through it as well," Arrow said, patting Torey's shoulder with an outstretched wing. Torey looked at him with a blank face and opened his mouth, but closed it afterwards, not knowing what to say. Arrow raised an eyebrow at Torey, before cutting him off when he opened his mouth.

"Tell me about her, and I'll tell you about Flare," he said. Torey looked at him with a shocked face, grabbing the tuft of fur on his head. He then blew a raspberry, denying whatever Arrow insisted.

"I don't even know what you're talking about."

Arrow beak winged himself, before removing it. "Dude, you almost tried to make out with me." Torey gave a big sigh, before blushing.

"Ooookay. Well, she's- uh, you see- how do I put this," Torey stuttered, not knowing how to piece it together. "Umm, okay, she's incredibly cute to me, she's got that beautiful smile, eyes, and face. She has the softest fur in the world, and everything about her just makes me incredibly happy," Torey vented out, confessing to Arrow about the mystery girl he almost kissed in his daydream. "She just has that... aura that makes me feel all jelly-like whenever I'm near her..." Arrow slowly nodded at him, taking in the information that he had just received.

"Well, Torey, I know how you feel right now, and I believe that you are... falling for her," Arrow said, receiving a look from Torey.

"You're in love with someone else too?" Torey asked. Arrow nodded, before Torey released a sigh.

"Does it make you feel any better if I told you that you didn't need to tell me who this person is?" Torey looked at Arrow again, this time with a confused face. "You were staring at her. It was quite obvious, even from up where I was." Torey groaned and hid his face underneath his collar, blushing intensely.

"Hey, don't worry. I'm not gonna rat you out. I can keep my share of secrets," Arrow assured. Torey sighed and emerged from his collar. His blush was slowly subsiding and he looked at Arrow in gratitude.

"Thanks man," Torey said quietly.

"Well, I gotta keep my end of the deal, so I'll tell you about my 'special someone.' Now, when Flare and I met, we had rescued her from a Mandibuzz that had separated her brother and her away from their parents. Flare had tried to protect Fletch from the Mandibuzz, and her backstory touched me and- yeah, yada yada. Well, I was quite awkward around her," Arrow started. Well, I guess Arrow is somewhat in the same situation as Torey. "When I first saw her, I thought she was the most beautiful bird I had ever met. She is a Fletchinder right now, and when I first saw her, I thought that her feathers were the most vibrant shade of red ever, her face was pretty, she had the nicest personality ever, you know, everything that you could ask from a dream girl. I think that she found me... quite idiotic, but sure am I glad she took a chance on me. We bonded together, you know, hung out with each other more and more, and I got more comfortable around her. Now I feel that we are probably the bestest friends ever," Arrow sighed, thinking about pleasant thoughts before looking back to Torey. "Well, if there was one thing I could advise you to do with Pachi, I would say stay as close to her as possible," Arrow finished, before receiving a small 'hm' from Torey. He then looked away and began to space out, before closing his eyes and drifting off into a light sleep.

Torey thought about what Arrow had told him, before slumping back on the minature mountains and sliding his hands between the rock and his head. He stared at the sky for a long while, which was still a pale blue. He spaced out, almost slipping into another fantasy, before a soft and angelic voice broke the small silence.

"Hey Torey!" Pachi said, plopping down next to Torey's other side. Torey's eyes widened and he yelped in surprise, jumping away from Pachi and into Arrow, who had been twisting and fidgeting in his small nap. Arrow jumped as well, squawking in surprise and ruffling his wings. Torey looked at Arrow sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

"Heh, sorry about that," Torey apologized.

"It's alright, I couldn't fall asleep anyway," Arrow replied, brushing himself off.

He looked around Torey and saw Pachi, who had a cheery look on and walked over to Torey.

"No, I should be sorry. I shouldn't have surprised you guys like that," Pachi said, releasing a small giggle at the end.

"I-It's okay..." Torey said in a shaky voice, getting onto his feet and turning to face her. He didn't expect Pachi to walk up to him and surprise him like that. He tugged at the tube on his neck, shifting uncomfortably and feeling his skin begin to sweat. He opened his mouth to say something, but a lump in his throat stopped anything he wanted to say. Arrow looked at him and nudged Torey in the elbow. Torey cleared his throat, thinking about how stupid he looked in front of Pachi.

"So, what's up?" Torey asked after a considerable amount of effort. He gave a small and nervous smile towards her, causing her to smile back.

"Well, Brelly and I are getting bored playing I Spy with each other. He keeps choosing something too obvious, like the flower he is staring at. He sucks at the game, to say frankly. So I came over here to see if I can get some people to join in. So, you guys wanna join us?" Pachi asked. Arrow shrugged, before looking over to Torey. He was kind of shaking a little bit, and his face had a slight tint of red on it. Arrow smiled to himself before replying to Pachi.

"Yeah, sure. I'm up for a game," Arrow said. He looked over to Torey, who looked back at him with a look of dismay. "Bro, just keep your cool. You'll be fine," Arrow said softly to Torey. Arrow followed Pachi, dragging Torey along. They walked across Twigs' back to Brelly, who was thoroughly scanning the landscape. He did a small celebration when his eyes fell on a small Spinarak that was hanging from a branch.

"Did you find anything, Brelly?" Pachi asked. Brelly turned excitedly to Pachi with a smile on his face.

"You will never gues-" Brelly was cut off when Pachi interrupted him.

"Is it the Spinarak hanging from the branch?" Pachi asked, pointing over to where the small spider was. Brelly sighed, pouting. He couldn't find anything that she couldn't. It was almost unfair, because as a fighter, he was more of a 'tell me what to hit' kind of person, and because of this he had trouble finding things on his own. Twigs gave a small grunt of amusement, while Donny and Sparky shook their heads, smiled, and chuckled to themselves, playfully disappointed in Brelly.

"Come on Brelly! You gotta up your game, man!" Donny exclaimed, playfully patting his back with his trunk. Sparky laughed along, somewhat cheering Brelly up a little bit.

Pachi, Torey, and Arrow finally got to Brelly, and he turned to face them. "Guys, I don't think I should be playing this game. I mean, I can't get one right!" Brelly complained.

"Hey don't fret, Brelly! We're here to join you," Arrow said, flying up to land on Brelly's head. "Okay, so who's going next?"

Pachi shrugged. "You wanna start us off?" she asked. Arrow shrugged, and scanned the landscape with his keen eyes. He found a small Oran berry bush about thirty feet ahead of them, and started describing it, being careful to look away from his object.

"I Spy with my little eye... something bushy..." Arrow started, looking over at the three other pokemon, who started scanning the landscape as well.

"Is it... Sparky's fur?" Brelly asked. Arrow shook his head, before looking over to Pachi.

"Ooh, it's... hold on it's on the tip of my tongue," Pachi said, pondering about what it was. She thought she saw it, and she had forgotten what to call it.

"Okay, we'll come back to you, Pachi," Arrow said, switching his gaze to Torey. "How about you Torey? Wanna take a wild guess?" he asked. Torey, upon hearing the word bushy, had looked at Pachi's tail without her knowledge, and had such a HUGE urge to grab it. It was so soft and he just wanted to cuddle with it. He reached out for it, before hearing Arrow's question.

"Wanna take a guess?" he repeated, shooting him a glare.

"Umm, eheh, is it Pachi's tail...?" he half asked half answered. Pachi turned around to face him, giggling softly. She then turned to Arrow, who shook his head.

"Well, it does fit the description," she said, turning to him and patting him in the arm. Torey tensed up, wanting her to both stop touching her and to keep patting his arm. There had to be something with her fur. She then turned to face him.

"Oh my- Torey! You have a cut on your face! I totally forgot about that!" Pachi exclaimed, reaching up and caressing his cheek. There was a cut on his face from Ambush's paw, and Torey blushed even more, feeling Pachi's paw against his cheek. The cut had somewhat dried up and the small amount of blood slightly matted his fur, and the filth that had turned his fur a slightly darker tinge of orange didn't help Torey too well. Pachi took her tail and jumped off Twigs' back, quickly dipping it in a nearby puddle on the ground. She hopped back on, being helped up by Brelly, before moving towards Torey again. Torey was tempted to hide in his collar again, for he was really uncomfortable around her. His heart beat twice as fast and he felt all jittery inside.

Pachi took her slightly wet tail and wiped the dirt and matted fur on his face. She looked at the cut with concerned eyes, and Torey couldn't help but marvel at her beautiful eyes. They seemed like they sparkled, and the black pearls acted like black holes. They pulled him in and there was no escape. His cheek slightly stung from the cut being cleansed, but he was too numb to notice the pain. Pachi bit the bottom of her lip as she now tried to get the dirt on his cheek that wouldn't come off. Oh Arceus, now she was biting her lip. She looked even cuter when she struggled, and Torey's heart fluttered. His legs were trembling and he was now unaware of his surroundings.

"Okay, that should get better soon," Pachi finished, looking back out at the landscape and continuing the I Spy game. Torey, who had held his breath, let it out and he slumped onto his butt. He looked at Arrow, who had tried his best to suppress a laugh.

The group had finally walked past the berry bush, and Pachi pointed at the bush excitedly.

"Ooh, ooh! Is it the bush?" Pachi exclaimed, looking at Arrow. Arrow nodded his head and did the equivalent of giving an enthusiastic thumbs up to her.

"She got it! Who's next?" Arrow asked. Brelly piped up, determined to finally get a good object. He spotted a tree nearby and opened his mouth to describe it.

"I Spy-" he started.

"Tree," everyone said in unison. Even Donny, Sparky, and Twigs joined in on the answer, even though they weren't playing.

"Damnit!" Brelly yelled in frustration, slamming his paws against Twigs' shell. "Okay, your turn Torey," he reluctantly said to Torey.

Torey looked around, not being able to find anything that satisfied him. He sighed, before an idea came to his head.

"I Spy with my little eye... something beautiful," Torey said. Hopefully, she wouldn't mind. Everyone looked around the forest, looking for the mystery object that Torey had seen. With the description that Torey gave, this was going to be hard to find, especially since beauty was something that everyone had different opinions on. Arrow looked at Torey, who was dozing off and in a dream like trance. Arrow immediately knew what he was thinking about, and he zipped his beak shut.

After a few moments, Brelly yelped in excitement. "It's the dirt! The damp forest and all... the stuff..." Brelly got confused looks and he quieted down. Previously being a Shroomish, he, like the rest of his species, loved damp and rotting leaves that were found on the ground after a severe rainstorm. Him and his fellow Shroomish found these events beautiful, for it provided them with plentiful amounts of food to feed on. He looked at Torey, who had the same confused face as everyone else. "No?" he asked quietly.

"Uhhh, no, Brelly," Torey answered, causing Brelly to sigh. Pachi glanced over to Torey after he laid back down, and she followed his eyes. She saw that he was unintentionally looking at the two birds who were still flying overhead, and she squealed.

"Eeeh! Is it Star and Grace?" she exclaimed, looking at Torey. Torey looked at her and shook his head. It was a good guess, but wasn't what he was looking for.

"How about you, Arrow? Got a guess?" Torey asked, looking Arrow in the eyes. He nodded to Torey before Pachi could turn to face him, before lying back on Brelly's head.

"I'm stumped, dude," Arrow lied, shrugging to him. Torey looked at the three of them, before laying back down.

"I'll give you guys another hint. It's pretty nice to have around," Torey said. Everyone looked around again, and this time even Donny, Sparky, and Twigs were joining in on the search. Everyone had joined in but one. Arrow shook his head and silently chuckled to himself. Torey hadn't noticed the newcomers, and continued to doze off into the sky.

"Is it... my tusks?" Donny asked. He found his tusks to be somewhat long and he thought they were in pristine condition.

Torey sat up in surprise, finally aware that he was playing now.

"Uhhh, no," Torey answered, before receiving an answer from Sparky.

"How about Twigs' whole back? I heard from the smaller pokemon that it is quite comfy on that shell and as of right now, it is pretty handy to some pokemon," Sparky answered. "And if I had a back like that, I'd be pretty proud of myself. Like seriously, 'dat tree doe.'" He quickly looked at Twigs, who acted out a flattered expression.

"You mean it, Sparky?" he asked, before the two of them laughed with each other. Although Sparky had a good reason to say his answer, Torey shook his head.

Twigs then attempted an answer, saying, "How about the Aerial Aces? Their teamwork is so fluid and so fun to watch, and it helps the team a considerable amount."

Once again, Torey shook his head. These were all good answers, but not the one he was looking for. Pachi then took a stab at it.

"How about Brelly's fighting? He moves so quick, and he can take anyone out in a heartbeat," Pachi answered, backing up her claim. Torey answered with a small 'mm-mmm' and began to think about another hint they could give them. He seemed to be pretty good at the game to everyone else, and they wondered if anyone would be able to answer Torey's description.

Donny looked at Arrow, wondering if he had an answer. "You got anything, Arrow?" Donny asked.

"I do, but it only applies to me," Arrow said.

"Aww, is it Flare you're thinking about? You guys look cute together!" Pachi cooed, grabbing her cheeks with her paws. Arrow chuckled, slightly blushing, before nodding to them.

"Yes, I am thinking about Flare," he admitted, causing everyone to coo over Arrow. Arrow blushed even more and smiled, before speaking louder than normal.

"Well, let's see what Brelly has for an answer!" he said, causing the cooing to cease. Brelly sighed to himself. What could possibly be beautiful and nice to have around at the same time? Well, the one thing that he always had to have around was some sort of partner. A partner was always nice to have around, for they would help each other out. Brelly thought about all of his friends and thought about how cool they were. He then looked at his current partner, the one pokemon that he considered as a sister. She was beautiful, there was no doubt about it, but he never thought of her in _that way_. But that was besides the point, and he decided to go with his gut on his answer.

"Is it Pachi?" he asked. Everyone looked at each other and murmured to themselves, before looking at Torey. Torey slowly nodded his head, causing everyone to go quiet. They looked at Brelly, who looked like his face was about to explode. Suddenly, he burst into an excited yell, pumping his fist into the air and celebrating. Arrow hopped off of Brelly's head when he jumped off of Twigs' back. Brelly continued to run around in excitement, bringing Donny and Sparky into a huddle. They all celebrated Brelly's first correct answer, half hugging half tackling each other in excitement. Arrow waddled over to Twigs' head and they looked at each other before smiling.

"His first correct answer in I Spy. Who would have thought?" Arrow said. They both laughed about it leaving Torey and Pachi and watching the three celebrants constantly chant Brelly's name.

Pachi turned to Torey with a smile. There was a faint stain of red on her cheeks and she looked at him in the eyes.

"Did you actually mean it, Torey?" she asked curiously. Torey rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, a small blush creeping onto his cheeks as well.

"Eheh, well, I know we just met and all, but you seem like a super cool person to be with," he said. He had a small confidence boost as he replayed Arrow's advice over and over in his head, and he blushed a little bit more, leaning in closer to her. "I also think you're pretty cute as well," he said, almost as a whisper. Pachi blushed and hid behind her tail, hiding the bottom half of her face and peeking over the soft fur she held in her paws.

She suddenly let go of her tail rushed to him, giving him a hug. Torey tensed up and blushed intensely. His whole face had become red and his fur stood on end, surprised from the sudden action.

"Oh, Torey, I know we just met as well, but you are such a sweetheart!" she exclaimed. Torey smiled to himself, before he saw Arrow look at him with a smile. Arrow gave another equivalent of a thumbs up and looked back at the celebration.

"Please don't let go," Torey thought, slightly hugging Pachi tighter. The both of them blushed slightly more and finally, after a minute, they awkwardly broke away from the hug. Pachi smiled at Torey, and he smiled back. They both sat down next to each other, watching the commotion that had commenced after Brelly's clutch play on the intense game.

"What a way to end I Spy, huh?" Torey asked. Pachi softly giggled, both at Torey's remark and at Brelly's celebration, which was slightly dying down, but still going on.

"Indeed, quite a way to end the game. Hey, if you ever need a hug, you can call me over," Pachi said, causing Torey to look at her funny. "Don't look at me like that. I know you enjoyed that hug," she said, causing Torey to blush.

"Hehe, I'm just messing with you," she said, playfully whacking Torey's arm. "But you should try to keep your thoughts to yourself next time," she told him. He turned redder and Pachi giggled at his face, which had turned into a tomato. Pachi looked over at the celebration again, which had now died down. Brelly was climbing back onto Twigs and Donny and Sparky had quieted back down.

"Well guys, we're almost back at camp!" Twigs announced excitedly as they reached the top of a hill. Just below, there was a hillside much larger than the one they were standing on to the right, and to the left there was a river that weaved out of the trees. The stream had jutted out a decent amount, as the curve had almost reached the middle of the camp. It turned back into the trees, giving the small camp a steady river that gave food and water. The field was surrounded by trees and they could make out small pokemon moving around in the field, by the river, and in and out of the really large den that rested in the hillside. And by really large, it was REALLY LARGE. You could fit several Twigs throughout the length of the entrance.

After a half hour hike, it was probably nice to be finally back home. It would be nice to meet the new pokemon there and rest after the long trek through the forest. Torey smiled at the beautiful sight in front of the group. Well, it would be nice to find a temporary place to rest before returning back to his home. He looked at Pachi, who shimmered in the beautiful sunlight that the sun was now giving off. The sun would be setting soon, and the sky glowed an extraordinary shade of orange. He turned around and saw Star and Grace descend from the sky. They were done with their cuddling and they now rejoined the group, landing on Donny's back.

Grace turned towards Torey and Pachi and smiled at the both of them. "You two look cute together," she said. Torey and Pachi slightly blushed and looked at each other, before smiling. They turned back towards the path that led to the camp, riding off on Twigs' back into the sunset.

* * *

><p><strong>Hey guys! Happy Valentine's Day to those who are coupled with that 'special someone' and Happy Weekend to those who aren't. I enjoyed writing this segment of the story and I hope you do too! This was supposed to be up in the afternoon of Valentine's Day, but with my parents' plans saying otherwise, I posted this late at night. Or early the next morning. Or whatever. Well, like before, I hope you enjoy the rest of your internet experience! Reviews and criticism is encouraged, but flaming and hate is not! Keep those dirty insults to yourselves! <strong>


	7. Meeting the Doc

The group had finally reached camp. As they walked down the hill, they were greeted by a small Fetchling and a Fletchinder that was slightly smaller than Arrow in the middle. The small Fletchling flew up to Star, Grace, and Arrow, forcing them into a tight hug. His tiny wings barely reached around the three birds.

"Hi guys! You won't believe what I did when you guys were gone!" Fletch said excitedly, releasing the three birds and circling above them enthusiastically. His sister smiled at her little brother. Like Pachi, little Fletch also had an infectious attitude.

"He wants to show you guys a new move that he's learning right now," Flare said for Fletch. She landed next to Arrow on Twigs' back, her wing just barely coming in contact with his. "He says he's almost got it, and once he finally learns it, he's going to be the happiest pokemon alive."

"Oh really now?" Star asked, looking up at Fletch. Fletch stopped circling around them and enthusiastically nodded his head. He landed next to Grace, who in turn wrapped her wing around his tiny body. She half hugged half strangled him, rubbing the top of his head with the equivalent of her knuckles.

"Oh did you? Oh did you now? What did little Fletch learn while we were gone, huh?" Grace playfully said, pinning down the struggling little robin. The both of them laughed as Fletch tried his best to break away from Grace's iron grip. He finally broke free after a few muffled yells. He pushed Grace away, but because of how much heavier Grace was to Fletch, he got knocked back more than her. He almost tripped on himself and off of Twigs, before Donny reached out with his trunk and saved him from falling backwards.

"Careful there, little dude. We haven't seen your little move yet and it'd be a real shame if you had to join these guys in the den without showing that move of yours," Donny said, pushing Fletch back onto Twigs' back. Fletch regained his footing, before noticing the new pokemon that sat next to Pachi.

With a wing, he pointed towards Torey, who had stood up, stretched his body, and was helping Pachi up to her feet. "Who's that guy? I've never seen him before," Fletch asked curiously. Flare glared at Fletch, softly hitting him in the back of the head.

"Fletch! Where are your manners? Excuse me, Fletch here is still a baby," Flare said to Torey. Fletch grumbled at Flare, and she smirked at him.

"Oh, it's okay," Torey said, smiling at the tiny bird. He looked at Flare, who reached a wing out. Torey took it with his paw and shook firmly.

"Care to introduce yourself, Torey?" Pachi asked. Torey looked at Pachi, and then back at Flare.

"It'd be rude not to. I'm Torey. And I believe you're Flare?" Torey asked, letting go of the Fletchinder's wing. Flare nodded her head.

"That's right, the name's Flare!" Flare smiled, before letting go of Torey's paw. "Nice to meet you! Now, I have to ask, but how'd you know my name?"

"Well, Arrow and I were talking on the way back, and he told me a little about you," Torey said. Flare blushed a little, but it went unnoticed thanks to her bright red feathers. She smiled a little at the fact that Arrow had been talking about her, most likely about the things that Arrow liked about her.

"Did he say anything good about me?" Flare asked curiously. She already knew the answer, but it just felt nice to have that answer confirmed.

"Yeah, from what I hear, you seem like a nice person," Torey replied. He was going to continue, but Fletch interrupted him.

"He WOULD say good things about her! You see, they both like each other, and if they didn't like each other, you would get to know how evil and mean and-"

"Gah! Fletch stop it!" Flare yelled, covering Fletch's beak with her wing. She was blushing intensely, and now you could barely notice it creeping up from behind the feathers on her cheeks. Arrow had slightly blushed as well, covering his face with his wing. Everyone either shook their heads and smiled or looked at Arrow and Flare and were confused, namely Brelly; he was completely oblivious to any kind of attraction. Most of the pokemon had known the strong bond that the two birds had and it wouldn't be surprising if the two had decided to get together.

Fletch continued to say the rest of his sentence, but because the voice was so muffled, it was almost impossible to tell if he was continuing or not. Flare finally let go of her little brother, who had gasped for air.

"Well, the more you know, right?" Fletch said. He then remembered what he saw between Torey and Pachi when he was practicing his Aerial Ace, and looked at Torey with a serious face.

"So, Torey, I have to ask, do you like Pachi?" Fletch asked.

"Do I like Pachi?" Torey repeated, rubbing his neck. "Well, it depends on how you mean-"

"Do you LIKE like her?" Fletch asked, more demandingly this time.

Torey was caught off guard and took a small step back, letting go of his neck and raising his paws in defense. He blushed, and his cheeks became stained with a faint red. Pachi blushed as well, and she quickly responded to Fletch.

"Why would you say such a thing?" Pachi asked, slightly mad at the underage bird. Fletch shrugged, slightly frowning.

"Well, when I was up in the sky practicing, I saw you guys out on the path. You guys looked like you were cheering about something, before you gave Torey a hug when no one was looki- AH!" Fletch had been interrupted by Pachi this time. She had charged up a small amount of electricity in her cheeks and fired a small spark at Fletch, who had yelped at the sudden jolt of electricity surging through his body.

Pachi shrugged when everyone looked at her. "He wasn't going to shut up," she replied. Satisfied with her answer, everyone looked back at Flare and Torey.

"Soo, how did you come to meet these guys?" Flare asked, changing the subject. Twigs had now begun walking towards the camp, and everyone not on Twigs' or Donny's back followed suit.

"Well, originally, I was taken away from my moth-" Torey stopped himself just in time. "Excuse me, I mean owner by a Mightyena. Like, this was the first time I had ever been in the wild by myself. My trainer and I... never mind that," Torey then pointed at Pachi and Brelly. "Anyways, those two showed up and saved me. A Mightyena pack then showed up, and we tried to fight back, but soon we became outnumbered." Torey added in a few fake punches and kicks. The group chuckled a little at his acting.

"We tried making a run for it, but the Mightyena soon caught up to us. Those dudes were super hardcore. Like, they were all crazy and wanted to see blood. They had surrounded us, we were all standing there, holding each others paws, praying to Arceus that some miracle was going to happen. Man, I thought I was going to die!" Torey put on a frightened face for added drama. The pokemon laughed at his acting, and Torey laughed along as well.

"Well, boy am I glad that these guys showed up. They're pretty hardcore as well, but they're the good kind of hardcore. Like, the kind of hardcore you want to be," Torey said, looking at all the pokemon that had saved him. Flare, like the others, was entertained by the story. After Torey's small presentation, she said to him, "Wow, what a way to start a journey without your trainer, huh?"

Torey nodded to her. "It is quite an exciting way because now you're making decisions for yourself, and there are some things that you still don't know about the wild," Torey said.

"Well, Torey, I am glad that you've become good friends with these guys so quickly. You should be able to fit in without a problem," Flare said, patting Torey on the shoulder. "Welcome to the family," Flare said.

"That's my line!" Twigs yelled angrily. Flare rolled her eyes and turned around, walking over and sitting next to Arrow. The group had finally reached the bottom of the hill in a momentary silence.

"Oh, I forgot! I've gotta show you guys what I was learning!" Fletch suddenly yelled. Fletch grabbed Star's wing and tugged, eager to bring him to his training spot. Star looked at Grace, who shrugged, and they both followed Fletch. Fletch looked over at his sister, beckoning her to come as well. Flare looked at Arrow, and they both shrugged. Flare took off, and Arrow followed her close behind. The five of them flew over the pond, greeting several pokemon that rested there. They then disappeared into the trees, leaving the land pokemon on their own.

Sparky and Donny ran ahead of Twigs, rushing up to meet a Monferno and a Scizor. The Monferno and the Scizor greeted Sparky and Donny, before looking around them and noticing Twigs. They waved, and Twigs nodded back, entering the camp. Twigs began walking over to the den on their right, before being suddenly confronted by a hovering Ledian.

"Twigs!" the Ledian yelled rushing up to the tortoise. The Ledian landed in front Twigs, bowing to him in an almost unnoticeable matter.

"Scout!" Twigs exclaimed. "Anything happen while we were out?"

"Nothing too exciting. Would you like to hear the news update in the last two hours?" the Ledian, called Scout, asked. Twigs nodded his head, walking past Scout. Scout hovered beside Twigs, keeping the same pace as him as they neared the entrance of the den.

"Well, Fenney is very very close to evolving. Or at least that's what the Doc's been saying. He says she's been looking for a stick, one that will fit her 'needs,'" Scout said, making air quotes with his hands. "She's also been getting into a habit of walking on her hind legs, which is very uncharacteristic of a normal Fennekin."

"Who's the Doc?" Torey butted in. Twigs and Scout looked at him, Scout more of a glare than a glance.

Brelly nudged Torey in the arm and whispered in his ear, "Scout doesn't like it if you interrupt his news report." Torey nodded slowly, apologetically putting a paw up towards Scout. Torey then whispered to Pachi. "Who's the Doc?"

"The Doc is... you'll get to meet him," Pachi said. Torey, not satisfied with this answer, sighed and continued listening to the news report.

"Interesting. How close are we talking about here?" Twigs asked. Scout shrugged.

"Well, the Doc says she is REALLY close to evolving. He's guessing that she's evolving within the week."

"Wow. Okay, what else is there?" Twigs asked.

"Well, I heard that Fletch is about to learn Aerial Ace, but then again, hasn't everyone? Little kid has gone around the whole camp telling everyone that he's almost got it..." Scout then pointed to his fingers and looked up at the sky, wondering what else he could be missing.

"What else, what else- right!" Scout exclaimed. "The Quilava that wandered here the week before has now decided to stay here with the group."

"That's great! Tell him that he's made a great choice in staying for me. In the meantime, I'm going to send these three to the Doc to let them recover," Twigs said, before Scout fell behind. He flew the opposite direction, looking for the Quilava that Twigs had mentioned.

"Well, it's a beautiful place you got going here," Torrey said, looking around the camp and admiring the pokemon that inhabited it. It was almost as if they were a small village.

"You don't have to say that, man," Twigs said. "Thanks for the compliment."

"This place has really grown on all of us," Brelly said, looking around at the camp as well. "A lot of the pokemon here were those that the original founders had stumbled on or helped out, including Pachi and I. I remember when Pachi and I had first come here. You remember, Pachi?" Brelly asked, looking over at the squirrel. She smiled and nodded, remembering how silly Brelly looked when they had been found by Twigs. At the time, Brelly hadn't evolved yet, and he was a silly looking Shroomish.

"Yeah, I remember when we first met," she said. "You looked adorable... like an ugly adorable," she teased, causing Torey to snigger with Pachi.

"I also remember when I almost squashed you," Twigs added, metaphorically throwing in more wood to the fire. Pachi and Torey laughed harder, and Brelly sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

The four of them reached the entrance of the cave, and Torey, who had finished laughing, gawked at the size. From end to end, you could fit about five Twigs. They entered the den, which was even bigger inside. There was a large room that acted almost like a lobby, with a moderately sized fire pit in the middle. Several tunnels were spread out across the walls, which were slightly smaller than the entrance.

"Now this," Twigs said, raising his right foot and slowly swiping it around the room. "is what we like to call the Great Room." To say that the room was big was not a valid description. The room was HUGE. It could easily fit 150 large pokemon inside.

They saw a Servine and a Cinccino hurrying into a tunnel on the left and a Meganium walking out of the tunnel on the right, glancing behind its shoulder. There was a voice that came out of the tunnel, continually begging for the Meganium to come back. "Ni! Ni, wait!" the voice called. The Meganium, or Ni, stopped outside the tunnel entrance. She turned around towards a Tropius, who had come running after her. As the footsteps came closer, the ground slightly shook, causing Torey, Pachi, and Brelly to hold on to Twigs' back slightly tighter.

"Ni, please. I'm sorry if I had done something terribly wrong to you and I really want to make it up," the Tropius said, catching up to and looking at Ni. Ni hung her head with her face down and she looked towards the floor. She sniffled, and she looked like she was on the verge of tearing up. The Tropius looked at her with concerned eyes and he lowered his head, lifting Ni's with his and bringing her up to eye level.

"Hey, I promise I will make things right. I know I screwed up and I have to fix my mistakes," the Tropius said. "You can hate me all you want afterwards, but please, let me right my wrongs. You're such a great pokemon to be with and I don't want you to let me go because of what I've done."

Ni tried her best to smile, before she wrapped her neck around his. The Tropius caressed her head with one of the leaves on his back, and he hugged her back.

"Oh, Dino. You know that won't happen. After all we've been through, I just can't do that to you," Ni said, almost in a whisper. She hugged the Tropius, who was regarded as Dino, slightly tighter and let out another small sniffle. "I'm still gonna hate you, though."

The two pokemon let go of each other and they looked each other in the eyes, softly smiling at each other. They nuzzled each other briefly, before Ni turned around and walked away, not breaking eye contact with Dino until she almost passed Twigs. "I promise, Ni," Dino said. She turned away from his gaze and quickly greeted Twigs and the three pokemon on his back, before walking out the den.

"So, Doc, what'd you do this time?" Twigs asked, walking up to the slightly larger pokemon. Dino brushed the question off and greeted Twigs.

"It's nothing. Anyways, you here for a check up or...?" Dino trailed off on his question. He saw Pachi, who was squirming in excitement, looked like she was about to burst. Pachi, being herself, had cooed over the two large pokemon. "I guess I have one patient that needs immediate treatment," he joked, smiling at the small squirrel.

"Yeah, I guess she does need help," Twigs agreed. The two pokemon watched as Brelly felt her forehead and ask her if she was sick, which caused the rest of the group to burst in laughter. Brelly was quite oblivious and he joined in with a nervous laugh after. Dino then turned around and walked into the tunnel, motioning for them to follow him in.

They reached the end of the tunnel and entered a new room. This room was easily smaller than the last room they were in, but it was still pretty big compared to the small pokemons' size. There were several small beds made of leaves and dirt lined up against the wall. Dino looked at the three pokemon on Twigs' back, recognizing Brelly and Pachi. He then looked at Torey and raised an eyebrow.

"Why, I've never seen you around here before. You a newcomer?" Dino asked. Torey nodded his head.

"I'm Torey," Torey said. He put a paw up to his chest and waved to him with his other paw. Dino nodded his head.

"Well, if you missed it, the name's Dino. You can call me Doc, if you prefer," Dino said. He motioned to Torey, Brelly, and Pachi to sit on one of the beds. They all took separate beds.

"Well, Doc, I have other things to attend to. I'll be gone for a while," Twigs said, doing the equivalent of a salute. "Well, I'll be back before dinner, so you guys don't cause too much trouble for Dino here."

With that, Twigs walked back out of the tunnel, exiting the den. Dino then looked at the three smaller pokemon that sat on the beds.

"You know, when I was your guys' age, I was as reckless as you. Twigs, his mentor, a Venusaur, and I would do the craziest things in the world. We would just find trouble and have a blast... Up until the last leader of the group, which was a Blastoise, saw us come back with the most ridiculous things. We had always come back with cuts, scrapes, and bruises."

"What kind of teacher would allow him and his student into trouble?" Torey asked.

"The cool and crazy kind. Anyways, we had gotten into the most peculiar situations. We almost wandered into a pokemart at night, almost gotten run over by the monorail, and had almost been shipped out to this place called Konto or Konta or whatever."

"Kanto," Torey corrected.

"Kanto, yes, thank you," Dino said.

"Well, you guys wanna indulge me with a story or do you want to give a short summary of what you guys did?" Dino asked. He moved his head into an irregular position, before he sliced three of the fruits that hung from his neck with the leaves on his back. He caught them with his wings and tossed it to the three pokemon.

"Eat up. These will help you recover faster," he said with a small smile. He knew a lot of the pokemon were very fond of the sweet fruit that hung from his neck, and he loved watching them gobble them with delight. Pachi grabbed the fruit eagerly and took a big first bite, eating about a fourth of the banana-like fruit.

"Oh man, I lub deesh," Pachi said behind a full mouth. "Dey're sho shweet!"

Torey laughed at her cheeks. They puffed out to twice their size and she could barely speak. Brelly laughed as well, before he was hit with his fruit on the head. It bounced off and he barely caught it. Torey and Pachi then began to laugh at him. Pachi covered her mouth and pursed her lips tightly, not wanting any of the fruit to come out. She swallowed the food down her throat before panting for breath. She then burst out into an uncontrollable giggle, clutching her stomach with the banana. Torey, who had finally received his fruit, joined in on the laughter. Brelly soon caved in, and he laughed as well.

Dino smiled at the three. Pachi's laughter was, like her personality, quite contagious. Heh, what a stupid pun for the Doc. He shook his head and he laid down on his stomach. He looked closer at Torey, noticing the small scratch mark that he had on his cheek. He raised an eyebrow and got up from his stomach, walking over to a stack of what seemed to be some sort of berry ointment.

He took a bowl that was nearby and scooped a little it up with the bowl in his mouth. Despite him not having any arms, Dino skillfully stooped down and scooped a good amount into the bowl. He had done this many times now and it had become an easy enough task for him to complete.

"Pachi, would you go ahead and apply this to Torey's scratch?" Dino asked. Coincidentally, Pachi was the closest to him and because he didn't have any limbs small enough to apply the ointment on Torey's scratch, he had asked her to do it.

Pachi nodded and took the bowl from his mouth. She walked up to Torey and took some of the ointment in her paws. She softly applied the ointment onto Torey's cheek, and no matter how hard he tried, Torey couldn't stop blushing. She was almost caressing his face, and like before, she bit her lip as she tried to spread the ointment over the cut. Pachi noticed him blushing and this time let out a small giggle, still applying the medication. She finished and smiled at him, before handing the bowl back to Dino.

"C-couldn't I just ha-have done that m-myself?" Torey asked, still blushing.

"Pachi wouldn't have let you. See, if she knows you, she treats you like family," he said. "And I guess applying medicine on someone else's face goes in that category."

Pachi smiled at him as Torey slowly nodded. There was a short silence, before Dino looked at all of them and settled down onto his stomach.

"Now, tell me about your adventures this time," Dino said. Torey looked at him and raised an eyebrow. Was this routine for them to go on some crazy adventure and come back to tell the Doc about how they almost got seriously hurt?

"Woah, wait a sec. You guys have done these types of things before?" Torey asked, looking at Pachi and Brelly. Brelly nodded his head, before taking a bite into his fruit while Pachi nodded as well, slightly giggling. Man, that laugh! Anyways, Torey, satisfied with the answer, laid back on the bed and stared at the ceiling, peeling the fruit he held in his paw.

"Well, it all started when Brelly and I were playing tag..." Pachi began. Torey slowly sat up, taking a bite into the fruit. He wanted to listen to the story and see how it sounded from her perspective.

"...And we ran through the trees, suddenly finding a human! The mystical beasts that either calmed pokemon down when they were in distress or strike them with fear at the worst possible moments. Now, this person was sad, and she had begun to cry her eyes out. Me, being the brave little soul I am," she paused, hearing Brelly blow a raspberry at her. "Shut up! Now, I confronted this magical being with all the bravery I could muster, and I asked her what was wrong..."

Torey laid back down on the bed. They weren't at the part where they met, so he decided to lay back and stare at the ceiling for a little while longer, munching on the fruit that was almost done. Finally, he heard his name and he quickly sat up, tossing the last of his fruit into his mouth.

"...And suddenly, we burst through the bushes to see that our Buizel friend was pinned down underneath a dark furred Mightyena. The Mightyena bared his fangs, and he turned to look at us. What he got was a straight jab to the face!" Pachi exclaimed, jabbing the air with her right paw. "That wuss took off running after Brelly had punched him, and we turned to see that the otter was brushing himself off. We came over to help him up, and we took care of his injuries. At the time, the Buizel, who was Torey, was a bit... skittish at times..." she said, smirking at Torey. Torey blushed slightly, but rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. His blush died down as Pachi started again.

"Well, suddenly, a whole pack of Mightyena came out! One of them was about to kill me before Torey dived into me. We flew for a few feet and we finally stopped," she said. Torey remembered that scene and blushed slightly. She had the softest fur and the most beautiful eyes he could ever think of. Her fur was quite dirty at the time, and it still was, but it was still that bright white and pale blue that he thought was a pretty color combination. He began to slip into another fantasy, and he slumped onto the bed, resting his paws underneath his head.

* * *

><p>Pachi ran away from Torey at a blinding pace. Torey could barely keep up and the both of them were panting hard. Torey, with all his might, ran faster, slowly catching up to Pachi. Pachi had looked over her shoulder and saw that he was gaining on her. She yelped in surprise and tried to run even faster. She quickly moved her tiny paws over the ground as fast as she could, giggling away like a toddler. She slowly pulled away from him, and Torey was losing speed from being tired out. He looked over to his left, seeing a path that led to where Pachi was running to and made a sharp left, breaking away from Pachi's view.<p>

Pachi looked over her shoulder to see that Torey had disappeared, and she smirked to herself. She had triumphed in losing Torey. She looked back ahead, only to see a smirking Buizel standing just a few feet from where she stood. She panicked and tried to stop herself from running into him. But at the speed she was going at, she was bound to run into him. She tried to go around Torey, but he sidestepped into her path. She collided with Torey and the two pokemon tumbled a few feet forwards.

They finally stopped, and Torey had ended up underneath Pachi. Pachi had clung to his chest, afraid that she might scratch her arm against the ground, and tucked her head onto his chest. She opened her eyes and slowly looked up at a blushing Torey, who had put on a small smirk. He reached out with a paw and poked her chest.

"You're it," Torey said, triumphant in finally catching the frisky little squirrel. She giggled a little, before looking at him in the eyes.

"I went easy on you. I let you catch me, boo," she said. They blushed at the small moment they were having and she slowly moved her face closer to his. They were inches apart now, and she began to close the gap between their foreheads. Torey reached out with his paw and he placed it on the back of her head, almost encouraging her to keep going and not back away. Their noses slowly got closer and Pachi rested her forehead on Torey's. They were blushing intensely now, and the both of them smiled and giggled, not breaking eye contact.

Finally, Pachi closed her eyes and inched her lips closer to Torey's. He followed and he inched his lips towards hers. His heart was pounding and his breath was heavy. Pachi's soft breath grazed Torey's lips, and she followed the breathing that Torey had. She took one of her paws and placed it on Torey's beating chest, while taking her other paw and grabbing Torey's paw with it. She directed it towards her chest, wanting him to feel the way she felt about him. Torey's chest beat even more as he placed his paw on Pachi's chest, which was pounding as much as his.

"Torey, I love you," Pachi whispered. Torey was about to reply to her the same thing, but Torey was suddenly kissed by Pachi in the lips. Her soft lips crashed into his, and they both closed their eyes, enjoying the sweet sensation. Their bodies tingled with pleasure, and the wondrous feeling they both felt stretched from their cheeks to the tips of their toes.

"And the Mightyena had Torey pinned down underneath him as I flew through the air!" Pachi exclaimed into his mouth. Her eyes shot open, and suddenly, a Mightyena knocked Pachi off of him and pinned Torey down instead. Torey's eyes shot open and he saw an intimidating Mightyena on top of him.

"I landed on the back of the Mightyena, which was biting into Torey's collar!" Pachi yelled, changing direction in mid air and landing on the Mightyena. The Mightyena bit into Torey's collar, and he yelled in pain.

"AAAAAH!" Torey yelled, grabbing his collar. The fruit peel fell off his muzzle and he caught it out of the air. Pachi, Brelly, and Dino looked in surprise at Torey's sudden interruption.

He had been kissing the fruit peel?! Dammit! "Eheh, it doesn't hurt to act, does it?" Torey quickly said. Dino scoffed at him, Pachi giggled, and Brelly face pawed himself.

"Oh my goodness, Torey. That's good," Dino said, obviously amused from Torey's sudden shriek. Pachi began to continue her story, and Torey laid back down on the bed.

The peel. THE PEEL! Torey cursed himself under his breath and gave a heavy sigh. He decided that he'd get a little bit of rest before dinner to sleep away the disappointing finish that his fantasy had. He placed his left paw on his chest and his right arm over his eyes. He closed his eyes and drifted off into a light sleep. The angelic sound of Pachi's voice lulled him to rest as she continued with the story. She was on the part where they were running from the Mightyena pack and they had hid in a bush. His breathing slowed, and he finally fell asleep.

In what seemed like a short period of rest, Torey had been woken by Twigs' affirmative voice.

"Gather 'round everyone! we've got two new guests that we need to welcome to the group!" Twigs turned the corner and saw the four pokemon in the room. Torey jumped at the loud voice, and he almost fell off the bed.

"They cause too much trouble for you, Doc?" Twigs asked. Dino shook his head and smiled.

"Quite an adventure these guys had," he replied. Pachi, Brelly, and Torey agreed and said their thanks to Dino. They all walked out of the room and into the tunnel.

"Thanks for watching over these guys. I'll see you in the Great Room, Doc," Twigs said. He walked away, letting Dino clean up the room.

Torey, Pachi, and Brelly walked through the hallway, seeing that the fire pit in the Great Room had been started. Several pokemon had gathered around the fire, warming up for the cold night.

"I wonder what's for dinner!" Pachi exclaimed, half skipping and half running down the tunnel.

* * *

><p><strong>Not much of a cliffhanger here, but at least I got chapter 7 up! My school grades decided to be an ass and they fell (screw Spanish) and I haven't been able to work on the story much. I did make an outline of how several chapters will go, so there's that. I won't be able to write as much, though. I apologize in advance, but I try my best to get these up. This story has gotten almost 300 views, and I am quite ecstatic. I'm sure there are stories out there that have reached the ten and hundred thousand marks, but getting up to this number makes me pretty happy. Well, stay tuned for the next chapter, and please review, for it is more than encouraged. I actually dare you to review this. Like I said before, flaming and hate is not appreciated, so keep those dirty comments to yourself and enjoy the rest of your internet experience.<strong>


	8. Roomies

**Sorry if I kept you guys waiting. I've had almost no time to write. Well, enjoy chapter 8. Just a little more character introductions and stuff. I'm planning for there to be a little story progression at around chapter 12-ish? It might come earlier or later, so keep that in mind. I have not forgotten about the Mega Stones, so do not bash me for that (if you were planning to).**

* * *

><p>"Fletch, eat your vegetables!" Flare yelled.<p>

"But vegetables are gross!"

Fletch quickly hobbled around the Great Room, weaving in and out of mingling pokemon. His sister was not far behind, knocking into the other pokemon and almost spilling their food while Arrow watched from a distance with a small smile. The fire pit in the middle of the room was ablaze, thanks to the Monferno that was in the field earlier.

Star and Grace were standing by the entrance. Star had his wing wrapped around Grace, and the two faced away from the fire and watched the beautiful night sky. The Dewott and Monferno stood next to the fire, their voices inaudible due to the other voices that echoed within the cave.

A Delcatty emerged from the tunnel that was across from where Torey was exiting, being greeted by an overly enthusiastic Sparky.

Scout entered the cave and flew across the room, zigzagging in between pokemon in order to complete his errands. He flew off into a different tunnel entrance, forcing a Frogadier to sidestep out of the way. It shook its head at the Ledian, before going over to the Quilava and Scizor and talking to them. A Fennekin off in the corner was pretending to sleep in a curled up ball, taking long glances at the Frogadier. Ni was walking over to the tunnel Torey had just exited, and the latter pokemon sidestepped out of the way.

Torey walked into the Great Room right after Pachi and followed her to a Servine that was handing out food on plates. It was with a Cinccino, and the two handed Pachi and Torey's food. Torey was about to walk away, before the Servine stopped him in his tracks.

"Aren't you the new guy that Scout was talking about?" the Servine asked. The Cinccino, who was facing the other way, turned around in curiosity.

Torey turned his head and looked at her. "Uh, yeah," Torey replied. The Servine nodded her head before turning to her friend. Torey turned to Pachi, but she had already walked off with her food to talk to a Meinfoo. He took a step forwards before being stopped again.

"Wait! Uh, hey, my name's Whip. This is Silk," the snake beckoned towards her smaller friend. "Umm... so yeah, it was nice meeting you," she awkwardly said. Silk rolled her eyes and walked up next to Whip.

"Well, since you're the new guy, we should probably inform you about what is to happen," Silk said. "There will be a ceremony if you decide to stay with the group permanently."

She was cut off as Twigs walked into the room after Ni and Dino. "Okay guys! Let's welcome our new member of the family!" Twigs yelled. The loud voice echoed throughout the cave, and a few moments later, the Quilava that had was talking to the Frogadier was suddenly grabbed by him and Brelly, who had silently crept behind him. They both carried him up to a large rock that sat in the back of the room by the Doc's room. They climbed the rock and placed him on the stage. The rest of the pokemon were applauding, stomping, cheering, or cawing out to the more than embarrassed pokemon.

"Speak of the devil, there you go," Silk said. "Your upcoming ceremony."

Brelly and the Frogadier jumped off of the stage, leaving the Quilava all alone. It was blushing, fidgeting, and smiling nervously to the crowd, who had settled down after a few moments.

"Eheh... uhh," the Quilava trembled at the crowd.

"Well, don't be nervous, Blaze! This is your family now," Twigs assured. Blaze, the Quilava, had slightly reduced his amount of fidgeting and stood up on his hind legs. He was still somewhat trembling, but it was hardly noticeable.

"Well, uh, what am I supposed to say?" Blaze asked.

"Tell them about anything. I'll tell you when you're done," Twigs replied, slyly smiling to him. "You're never getting off that rock," Twigs said quietly, but loud enough for Blaze to here. Blaze began fidgeting again, and his trembling doubled at the remark.

"I'm just kidding. Well, let's start with who you are. Although you've been with us for a week, a lot of the pokemon here still have yet to learn about you," Twigs said. "Alright, go."

"Umm, well... my name's Blaze...? If you didn't know..." Blaze said, almost mumbling.

"Speak up!" someone in the crowd said, and immediately, the whole crowd agreed. The cave burst into chatter, and the Quilava stood there awkwardly.

"Well, a lot of the ceremonies go like this. At least he's doing better than me," Silk said. Torey looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "I slipped and fell off the rock." Whip laughed at Silk, and Silk punched her in the arm. "Shut up."

"Heh, I guess that explains it," Torey replied, smiling at the image that was created in his head. The three of them looked back at Blaze, who had tried to continue. Twigs shushed the crowd, and everyone fell quiet, watching Blaze closely.

"Okay, I'll speak up, I guess," Blaze said, slightly raising his voice. "Well, I hate water... I guess we can start with that."

Several laughs came from the crowd. Being a fire type, it was quite obvious that Blaze wasn't too fond of water.

Blaze continued his little presentation. Torey sat down and began eating his food. Silk had gone away to grab her own plate, and she sat down next to Torey, eating and watching the show that went on for another half hour. Donny came out of the nearest tunnel to the right, and he sat down and joined Torey, Whip, and Silk.

"How was cooking?" Whip asked when Donny sat down.

"If poeple end up in Doc's room, don't look at me."

* * *

><p>"...and that's how I defeated my best friend and arch enrmy with a stick stuck in my jaw. It's a shame that she still chose him over me," Blaze said, causing the crowd to laugh. He laughed along, putting the past behind him.<p>

"Well, can we give a round of applause to our friend Blaze here?" Twigs said. The crowd applauded in response, agreeing with Twigs. "We're glad to have you, Blaze!"

"Thank you, it's much appreciated!" Blaze said, smiling and bowing to the crowd. He walked off the stage, and the pokemon settled down, finishing what was left of their dinners. Torey had already finished his dinner and he was talking with Silk and Donny.

"So that's why you don't get on Sparky's bad side," Silk finished. Torey shuddered. What did Sparky do to that pokemon? Sure, they hated each other's guts like there was no tomorrow. But to do... THAT?

"Oh right!" Donny said. "When we go to bed, you're gonna have a buddy to sleep with."

Torey, Whip, and Silk looked at him weird. "No no no, not like that! Twigs is gonna have you bunk with a buddy."

Coincidentally, Twigs walked up to the group. "Hey Torey, enjoying the food?" he asked.

"Uhh, yeah, I think. It has a weird aftertaste, kinda like... dirt?" Torey said, slowly turning his head towards Donny. Twigs followed as well, and Donny rubbed the back of his head with his trunk.

"Sorry in advance if you end up terribly sick," Donny quickly said. "I can't help myself! After all, I am a ground type." Twigs shook his head before looking back at Torey.

"Dunno if it was a good idea putting Donny on cook duty," Twigs said, slightly shaking his head. Torey looked at Donny and then back at Twigs.

"What'd he do?" Torey asked.

"Donny almost critically hurt Blaze after he repeatedly said he needed help," Silk said. "That was when we first met the dude."

"Donny, you still have one week left. Try not kill anyone," Twigs said. "Well, I came here not to talk about Donny's horrible cooking, but about who you'll bunk with."

"What a coincidence," Donny said. Twigs looked at him with a 'shut up' face. Donny shut his mouth.

"Just wanna ask, but what's the point of bunking? Couldn't we all just crash out in the Great Room?" Torey asked.

"You see, if we all slept here, what if a trainer showed up? A greedy trainer? And all his greedy trainer friends?" Twigs asked. Silk, Whip, and Donny shivered, but Torey kept a straight face. He shrugged.

"Well, couldn't they just search the cave then if..." Torey said.

"Trust me, it's better safe than sorry. They're less likely to search the cave if they think it's empty. And besides, we've got more to worry about than just greedy trainers," Twigs said. Torey shrugged once more.

"Hm, I guess it is better safe than sorry, right?" Torey asked. Twigs nodded his head before turning Torey around. The two scanned the large room before Twigs' eyes landed on the Dewott and Monferno.

"You'll be bunking with those two and Brelly. Brelly's bunking with them, so you should be able to make friends pretty easy when someone you're comfortable around is with you," Twigs said, pointing at the sea otter and monkey. Torey nodded. "Remember, if you're bunking with someone, you treat these guys like your brothers. You got their backs, and they got yours," Twigs said. He looked at Torey, who nodded. Twigs began to walk away after.

"Well, I'm heading to bed. Have a good night, Torey."

"Why so early, Twigs?" Whip asked. Twigs grunted in response.

"Early bird gets the prize," he said. Silk rolled her eyes, Whip face pawed herself, and Donny shook his head.

"He says that every night. He goes to sleep first, but wakes up last almost every morning," Whip said. Silk and Donny nodded in agreement.

"Well, at least he tries," Donny said.

Twigs walked into a hallway that was next to the Doc's. Torey looked at Silk, Donny, and Whip. They all shrugged and began talking together. Torey turned away from the group and scanned the room for Brelly. His eyes passed by Sparky and the Delcatty, Scout zooming in between pokemon, Flare shoving a plate of vegetables down Fletch's beak while Arrow held Fletch down (and a lot of squawking and wing flapping), Brelly and the Frogadier talking with Blaze and the Scizor, Star and Grace watching the night sky, Ni and Dino sharing a plate full of berries, and Pachi and the Mienfoo talking to each other. There was no sign of his other new roommates.

Torey shrugged to himself and walked towards Brelly. At least he would get to meet some of Brelly's friends.

"Yo, wassup, bro?" a voice from the left said. Torey suddenly looked to his left, stopping in his tracks. The Monferno and the Dewott were walking towards him now.

"Uhhh, hi..?" Torey said, confused at the sudden confrontation. The Dewott smacked the Monferno in the chest with the back of his right paw. He stopped and turned to the Monferno, looking at him in the eyes.

"Watch," he said. Torey raised an eyebrow as the Dewott turned back towards Torey as if he was flipping his imaginary hair towards the left. With some swag in his step, the Dewott walked towards Torey and held out a paw.

"What's up, homie?" the Dewott asked. Torey reluctantly grabbed his paw, before the Dewott pulled Torey into a quick and unexpected bro hug. They pulled away and the Dewott stepped back and looked at him. Torey looked at the Dewott, still with a raised eyebrow.

"'Scuse me if I was being rude. I'm Aqua. This is Scorch," the Dewott said. The Monferno offered Torey's paw, in which Torey took. Torey was then brought into another bro hug.

"Umm, well I'm Torey," Torey said awkwardly. Aqua and Scorch nodded at him and smiled.

"Brelly's told us a little bit about you. Come on, lets go talk with him and his friends," Aqua said. Aqua and Scorch turned around and took a few steps away, beckoning Torey to come along. Torey jogged to catch up with them and the three made their way around the other pokemon in the room. They finally walked to the other end of the room, sneaking into the conversation that Brelly, Blaze, the Scizor, and the Frogadier were having.

"Shut up Brelly! What would you know about people liking each other?" the Frogadier said as Torey joined in the conversation seamlessly.

"I-I'm just voicing my opinion," Brelly said.

"Bubbles, Brelly might be right on this one," the Scizor said. "Fenney's been staring at you for a while. And she hasn't even made an effort to hide it." The Frogadier angrily looked at the Scizor.

"I wasn't talking to you, damnit! And my name's not Bubbles!" the Frogadier angrily replied.

"Heh, that never gets old, Crimson," Scorch said. Crimson nodded and the two fist bumped.

"Torey!" Brelly exclaimed excitedly. "What's up with you? I see you've gotten to know Aqua and Scorch!"

"Yeah, these guys are my new 'roommates,' I guess," Torey said. Everyone looked at Torey, surprised at hearing a new voice in the group.

"Aren't you the new guy?" the Frogadier asked. Torey nodded. "Well, I'm-" the Frogadier began.

"Call him Bubbles," the Scizor butted in. The Frogadier punched Crimson in the arm, before grabbing his wrist and wincing in pain. Crimson shook his head and looked back at Torey.

"Damn Steel types," the Frogadier said quietly.

Crimson saluted to Torey politely. "I'm Crimson. We like to call this guy Bubbles. If you wanna know his real name, it's actually Hanzo," Crimson said.

Hanzo looked at Torey with pleading eyes. "Please don't call me Bubbles," Hanzo said. Torey looked at Hanzo and nodded, before smirking.

"Ok, Bubbles," Torey replied. The people in the group burst into laughter, and Hanzo angrily sighed. He turned around and stomped off, causing everyone to laugh harder.

"N-no, Hanzo, we were just k-kiddehahaha!" Crimson couldn't finish his sentence. Hanzo had bumped into Scout, who was holding a warm Oran Berry drink. Scout, who had rushed into the room, bumped into Hanzo, spilling his drink all over the Frogadier. Hanzo got up off his back and brushed the spilled drink off his body. Scout offered a hand, which was ignored by Hanzo. Turning around, Hanzo stuck a hand towards the group, giving them what seemed to be the middle finger. He angrily walked into a tunnel, leaving a confused and slightly frightened Scout shrugging to the group.

The group continued laughing for a couple more minutes, and soon the laughter died down to a soft chuckle. Crimson turned to Torey and placed one of his claws on Torey. "You are going to fit perfect with us, Torey," Crimson said.

"Yeah, I like this guy. He isn't too bad," Blaze said. Torey smiled, before beginning to feel bad for Hanzo.

"I feel kinda bad for Hanzo. I dunno if I should've-"

"Hey, don't worry about it! We do it all the time. He's gonna get used to it sooner or later," Aqua said, nudging Torey's elbow. Torey shrugged.

"Well Brelly, we're gonna get Torey as a roommate! Excited?" Scorch asked. Brelly tugged at his little leaf collar with a paw.

"Yeeeeah, uh, I kinda switched rooms. I'm bunking with Crimson, Blaze, and Hanzo," Brelly said. "I switched with Striker."

"STRIKER?! What the hell man?!" Aqua yelled. Brelly shrugged.

"It was pretty crammed in there. I know what it feels like to be Crimson now," Brelly said.

Scorch and Aqua sighed. "Oh well. You'll get to meet Striker, at least," Aqua said to Torey.

"Is it a good thing or bad thing?" Torey asked. Aqua shrugged.

"Eeeeh, it depends. Personally, I'm not too fond of Striker. He can be kinda weird," Aqua said.

Torey scratched his head. This Striker couldn't be too bad, could he?

"I heard that he made out with his sister once," Scorch said. Okay, maybe he was.

Crimson let go of Torey's shoulder and punched Scorch in the arm. Scorch winced in pain and his mouth gaped from the sudden shock that surged through his arm. He grabbed his arm and began to massage it, still wincing from the Bullet Punch that he received.

"He may be kind of weird, but that's not what we do here. We don't go around and make rumors out of pokemon," Crimson said. Aqua looked at him disapprovingly, before flinching after Crimson faked a Bullet Punch towards him. Crimson looked back at Scorch. "Besides, where'd you even hear that?"

"Aqua told me," Scorch said. Crimson glared at Aqua, and Aqua raised his paws in defense. "It must've been something we ate, but it seemed pretty legit at the time."

"Oh my Arceus, you guys are so stupid," Crimson said.

"So Torey, anything you'd like us to know about you?" Blaze asked. As a fellow newcomer, Torey felt kind of comfortable around Blaze, even though they just met. Torey told the group about the interesting things he had told Brelly when they were walking back to camp, explaining how he had met Pachi and Brelly. The story spanned for about twenty five minutes, and the group shared laughs. Torey purposefully left out the part where Pachi hugged him. Sure, a small hug might not have started any rumors, but Torey did not want to risk it. It seemed kind of immature on his part, but Torey mentally shrugged it off.

* * *

><p>Two Murkrow flew through the pitch black sky. They both spotted a cave opening that had a bright light coming out of it. Two birds, one slightly bigger than the other, stood at the entrance and pointed out into the sky and towards them. Thankfully, their black coat of feathers concealed them in the darkness. The two continued to circle around the newly found camp, surveying the terrain. They dived down to a nearby tree and landed on a branch, seeing what was inside the cave now. Several pokemon talked together, and several of them were what the Murkrows were looking for.<p>

The two crows spent a few minutes perched on the branch, taking mental notes about their surroundings. After a few more minutes, they wrapped up their hypothesis of what this place might be. "You know what I think?" the first Murkrow said in a raspy tone. He turned to the other Murkrow, who looked at him with a mischievous smirk.

"I know exactly what you think. Come on, let's go tell Head Honcho," the second Murkrow said in a high pitched voice. They both took off and turned around, heading back towards their campand flying over the trees for several minutes. The wind picked up, and because their small bodies wouldn't allow them to keep their altitude much longer, they dived beneath the treetops, following the river that they used as a guide. The cold night wind passed through their feathers as they flew as close as they dared to the water. Following the current, they finally reached a small pond. The water was still, and there was an eerie feel to the area surrounding the pond. The two Murkrow entered a small den, finally reaching their destination.

The two entered the almost pitch black cave. They landed on their two feet and waddled around, reaching out with their wings; the visibility in this place was absolutely horrid. The two crows bumped into a larger crow and they fell back on their tail feathers. Shaking their heads, they looked up to see a Honchkrow looking down at them with a puffed out chest.

"Hey, w-we're sorry, sir," the high pitched Murkrow said meekly. His partner shook his head, while the Honchkrow smirked evilly at them.

"Did you find anything?" the Honchkrow said with a booming voice. They both nodded their heads.

"We found out where they are. There might be more of them in there," the raspy voiced Murkrow said. Behind the Honchkrow, a Houndoom and a Mandibuzz emerged, standing next to the Honchkrow on both sides.

"Is he there?" the Houndoom asked. The two small crows shrugged.

"If you're talking about the Manectric," the raspy toned Murkrow said. "We did see two of the birds that Ambush was talking about. The rest of the group that Ambush saw might be inside plus a few more that we haven't seen yet."

The Houndoom smiled evilly and dug his paws onto the ground. The Honchkrow noticed him and settled down the excited canine. "We'll get him in time, Cerberus. In time."

"Ohohoh, I can't wait!" Cerberus replied.

The Honchkrow turned to the two Murkrow and nodded his head. "Excellent job. Gather your flock," the Honchkrow said. The two crows nodded and turned around to gather their group. The Honchkrow then turned to Cerberus. "Release Ambush and tell him to get his pack, then get yours. We still need to check the place."

He then turned to the Mandibuzz. "So you were right about this one," he said. They both shared a sly smirk, which turned into a slight cackle.

"When am I never, Blackjack?" the Mandibuzz asked. Blackjack sighed and he put both his wings together.

"To the drawing board now."

* * *

><p>The group of six pokemon walked down the hall that Hanzo had gone down. They shared a few laughs and yawns and joked around about this and that. They reached the end of the tunnel, which branched off into two rooms. It had now gotten late at night and the pokemon had now hit the hay. The only ones still awake were the six that talked loudly.<p>

Crimson was the first to enter his room. With a loud yawn, he waved to the rest of the group. "Well, I'm done for the night. See ya in the morning." He walked through the tunnel, almost scraping his head against the ceiling. Shortly after, Blaze and Brelly waved to their next door neighbors and retreated back into their rooms.

"G'night guys," Blaze said, following Brelly into the room. Aqua, Scorch, and Torey waved to Blaze and receded into their room. Aqua put a paw on Torey's back and with his other paw swiped it across the room.

"Welcome," Aqua said. Scorch had gone ahead and lit up a small torch on the wall. The fire illuminated the whole room. "to the crib!" Aqua finished. The room was a moderate sized room, big enough for at least ten pokemon to move around comfortably. On the left and right sides of the room, there were two hammock like bunk beds that was suspended from the roof. In the left bottom bunk was a Croagunk who had quickly covered up his... operations. He wasn't quick enough, though, and Aqua and Scorch looked at him in disbelief.

"Striker, what... were you doing before we came in?" Scorch asked. Striker looked at him with a red tinted face and a sweat running down his temple.

"I-I was... rolling a die?" he answered. Aqua and Scorch face pawed, while Torey looked at him, confused. Rolling a die? What was that supposed to mean. Torey then saw Striker's right paw. Oh, so that's what he meant. He was rolling a die. He was churning butter. He was mashing the eject button.

"Well, are you done?" Aqua asked. Striker nodded shamefully. "Well, there' someone you should meet." Aqua looked at Torey and pointed at him. "This is Torey. He's our new roommate."

Torey held out a paw, before retracting it back to himself. Striker let out a sheepish laugh and rubbed the back of his head with his left hand. "I should probably go clean up before I touch anything else," Striker said. Aqua and Scorch nodded in a agreement and walked to their beds. Aqua got on the bottom bunk that was across from Striker's while Scorch got the bunk on top.

"That's your bunk, Torey," Scorch said, pointing to the bunk on top of Striker's. Torey turned to his bed and climbed up to it. The bed swayed as he got comfortable and he laid his head back. He stared at the ceiling as the bed moved back and forth.

Striker returned to the room with a clean right paw and sat on his bed. He looked up at Torey's bunk and held out a paw. Torey grabbed his paw and they quickly shook.

"I'm Striker, nice to meet you," he said. Torey nodded and took his paw back, quickly checking over it to see if there was anything that he might have not wanted to pick up from the quick paw-to-paw contact. It was clean, and Torey exhaled a small sigh of relief.

"So Torey, you said you didn't know much about fighting?" Aqua asked. Torey nodded to him quickly. When telling the group about things that they should know about him, Torey had said that he didn't know any moves because he was left behind when he was a small pup. Torey was very proud of that excuse; he had made it up on the spot and it didn't make sense. Somehow, they had believed him, even though earlier he said that he had a trainer.

"Okay, tomorrow morning I'm taking you to the 'spawt!' and I'll teach you a thing or two about fighting," Aqua said. Scorch and Striker scoffed at the way Aqua said it.

"Naw dude, you got it wrong. It's the 'spowt!'" Scorch said. Aqua rolled his eyes and looked at Scorch.

"Yeah, whatever," he said. He looked back at Torey. "Well, tomorrow morning. Got it?" he asked. Torey nodded. He was kinda psyched that he was going to be hanging out with someone tomorrow morning. He would also be learning about fighting as well.

"I should warn you, Aqua gets up REALLY early," Scorch warned. "He wakes up before the sun comes up."

"I think I can handle," Torey said. Aqua pointed at Torey and Torey pointed back at him. "I gotcha homie," Torey said. Aqua then smiled to himself and laid back on his bed. Homie. Torey had just used that word on a pokemon he had just met. POKEMON. JUST MET. He usually reserved the word homie for his best buds.

"Well, I'm heading to sleep. Night, guys," Aqua said. Scorch nodded, putting out the torch that was on the wall between his and Torey's beds. Torey closed his eyes, trying to drift off into sleep. The silent night was accompanied by the soft breathing of his newly made friends, the sounds of Kricketots and Kricketunes chirping throughout the night, and a soft... flapping sound? The sound came from underneath Torey's bed and his eyes shot open. Fast and heavy breaths could be heard with the flapping noise and an occasional grunt here and there.

Torey looked over at Scorch and Aqua. Have they fallen asleep yet? In the dim light (thanks to Scorch's tail flame), Torey could see Aqua and Scorch's faces. Their eyes were shut tight and the two looked like were in an uncomfortable sleep. Maybe they were awake and just wanted to pretend that Striker wasn't being naughty. Torey then turned to the other side of the bed and stared at the wall in horror. Maybe he could marvel at the wall's blandness and fall asleep at its fascination. Torey couldn't fall asleep, and the terrifying sounds that came from underneath him continued.

After a couple more minutes, Striker's slightly louder grunts were drawn out to a final long grunt. The flapping sound had stopped, and the room was finally quiet. Torey turned back towards Aqua and Scorch and looked at the two. By this time, Aqua and Scorch had fallen asleep. Aqua had his arm over his eyes and with his other paw kept a scalchop on his chest. Scorch had turned towards Torey and had an arm hanging off the side of his bed. The two snored softly simultaneously. Torey decided to follow them into sleep. He slid a paw underneath his head and brought his legs up closer to his stomach. He closed his eyes and listened to the Kricketots and Kricketunes that still played their songs throughout the night.

* * *

><p><strong>I enjoyed writing Aqua and Scorch's characters. Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review and favorite if you enjoyed it. Otherwise, enjoy the rest of your internet experience! (I used the word enjoy in all those sentences. I feel proud.)<strong>


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